Faraway Promises
by Insaneiac The Maniac
Summary: When it takes an outsider to help Lloyd uncover his true feelings for Sheena, a very important discovery is made. Now begins something that could destroy everything that Lloyd has ever held dear, all of it revolving around his exsphere and his heart.
1. Chapter 1: Attempts

A/N: Well folks, here is the deal and such. The story itself is, in fact, based after the end. So there will be a little bit of spoiler, and if that is something you fear, RUN AWAY! Yes, the primary pairing is Lloyd/Sheena, but I will have others. I have a real surprise for Yuan fans too, seeing as how we Yuan-ites have to stick together and all that jazz.

Disclaimer: Yup, I don't own Tales of Symphonia. NAMCO does...as the do own Xenosaga…and other fine games…

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"_I…I want to be with you Lloyd"_

"…_S…sure, I want to be with you too."_

"_R…really! Then it's settled, okay? You can't change your mind now! We're going together on a journey to collect all the Exspheres in the world!" _

"_Yeah. That way, no more people will fall victim to the Exspheres, and these things will never be dragged into a conflict like this again."_

"_It's a promise then? If you don't keep it, I'm going to invoke the Mizuho tradition of making a liar swallow a thousand needles!"_

_Lloyd could only return with a closed eyes, nervous smile as the implied meaning of her words sank in, nodding silently in response. "Whoa…okay, okay, I promise. I promise." Before he could open then again, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, and he soon found himself locked in a warm hug with the ninja, unable to see the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Before anything else could be said, she ran off, leaving a dumbstruck Lloyd to try and piece together what just happened._

Every night, his mind would trace its way back to this event, losing himself within it. The warmth of her hug, the lightness in her words, the way she looked basked in the soft glow of the moon. Those words saved his life on more than one occasion since that night, reminding him over and over again as he fought long and hard. She wanted to be with him.

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**Tales of Symphonia – Faraway Promises  
**

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**Chapter 1: Attempts**

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Again, his mind drifted towards that night, and everything that it encompassed. Lloyd was slowly beginning to see deeper into it. He'd had an idea for a while now. Well, it was more like a feeling than an idea, but in many ways they were entwined with one another. Nonetheless, Lloyd was lost, deep in thought over his feelings, over that night, and over one other thing. Something that had haunted him since he dealt the deathblow to Mithos, and ended the madness he represented. As the shattered fragments of his Cruxis Crystal seemed to absorb into his Exsphere, he was left alone with one empty, unfenced and completely mind encompassing thought. 

"I don't want to be like him…" Lloyd muttered, brushing his pillow with his nose, finally coming out of his near comatose state of thought. He found it quite ironic that he could go into a sleep like state when thinking, but that his thinking actually kept him from sleeping.

"Like who?" A curiously melodic voice answered, startling Lloyd and drawing him back into reality completely. He had, for better or worse, believed that Sheena had long since fallen asleep, and while he did find something else to focus on appealing, he still felt foolish for letting his thoughts out into the open.

Lloyd gave a stupid smile to his partner, before muttering, "No one…just talking to myself…" He replied, as happily as he could fake it. It had been a long four weeks since the start of his journey, and to say that they have made progress would be an understatement. Every so often, his mind would drift to his friends, and how they we're living. Colette, Zelos, and Raine were in charge of Iselia, with Raine as the new mayor of the town. Genis, Presea, and Regal, on the other hand, were busy using the Lezareno Company's power and funds to help build a new world. On both sides, he knew relationships were budding.

Genis and Presea, though excruciatingly different in age, could care less about such a thing as they enjoyed life together, as serious as a thirty year old and a child could be. Of course, if you only just watched from a distance, and really never heard a word they said, they both looked like a happy young pair, perfect for each other. On the other end of the world, Zelos had found himself smitten with the once former opposing chosen. Despite his antics to make a pass at any passing woman still raging strongly within him, Zelos was always rendered helpless when he laid eyes on the smiling Colette. The great Chosen One, Zelos Wilder…rendered helpless by the most innocent person on the face of the planet.

And then there was Lloyd and Sheena, alone in a forest a day's length from the city of Meltokio. A woman who had said, clearly from the bottom of her heart, that she wanted to be with him. His closest friend in the world, closer than he and Genis had ever been, closer than he and Colette could have ever hoped to have been. And he could tell, quite easily, that she didn't buy his smile.

Sheena knew Lloyd enough to know when his smile was an empty one. Curiously, she cocked her head to the side, and stared at Lloyd. "What's wrong Lloyd?"

A near silent sigh escaped Lloyd's lips. "I was just…thinking about things. The bad things."

"Zelos bad or the real bad?"

Lloyd chuckled at the Zelos crack, a common occurrence between them. If something was bad, anything at all, Zelos's name wound up somewhere next to it. More often then not, the two would associate his name with anything that could be perceived as dirty. It took Lloyd a while to actually get this, as in the beginning he would actually call dirty things, like mud or muddy animals, "Zelos things."

"Nothing like that. I was just…" Another long sigh. Since the month they've been together, journeying the world, Lloyd had grown up quite a bit. While he was still, at best, slow on the uptake, he was thinking more and more, and actually working towards fixing his image of being the idiot. Sometimes, this would result in even worse results though. "…worried that I might be turning into Zelos." He finished, a big, stupid, and empty grin on his face.

Yes, just like that.

"…Idiot." Sheena muttered, rolling her eyes before rolling over and going back to sleep.

"Sheena?" Lloyd muttered, before she had a chance to. Turning slowly, Sheena locked eyes with Lloyd again.

"What Lloyd?" What she saw shocked her. Lloyd's usual soft brown eyes that exuded happiness had become somber, almost alarmingly so.

"In truth…I was worried about..." A long pause filled the air, as Lloyd struggled with the words, struggled with his own barriers. "...becoming Mithos." He muttered, his voice harbouring whatever lightness it could fake. "I try not to think about it, but the more I do, the more I realize that I really could be him."

"…Lloyd…" Sheena uttered softly, watching her friend's expression turn south. In all her time with him, she would never have been able to tell that he feared that. They were so different, so entirely and completely unalike in every way.

"All he wanted to do was change the world; make it a more accepting place for his kind. He wanted to make this world a better place. What if that battle, the final battle with Mithos, was more a glance into the future than a new beginning?" Lloyd muttered softly, any trail of joy gone from his voice. He stared long and hard into the ground, breathing deeply. "I'm afraid Sheena…of betraying you and my friends…of becoming obsessed with creating a world free of discrimination at whatever the cost..."

He sniffled gently, feeling unbelievably vulnerable and almost naked in his revelation. His deepest fear and darkest secret, revealed to the one person he came to trust more than anyone he'd ever met. He felt Sheena staring at him, afraid that she pitied him, or worse. He twitched as he felt a pair of hands draw him up, bringing him face to face with Sheena, who stared into her eyes long and hard. Gently, she wrapped his arms around him, and embraced him gently, comforting him as best as she could. She had never seen this side to Lloyd before, but she knew all to well what it was like to be afraid. And he was there for her when she was scared, ready to comfort her in the exact same way. Finally, she broke the hug, and locked her eyes with Lloyd, before finally saying something.

"You dork." She started, smiling as she saw Lloyd's reaction. Usually, Lloyd was the one using that word. "You're nothing like Mithos. You're kind, and strong-willed, and compassionate, and so much more. You're loyal to a fault, and you would sooner give your own life up then watch one of us suffer. If anything, you're what Mithos envied in the end." Sheena listed, never breaking eye contact with Lloyd. She could see the tears welling up in his eyes as each word put his mind at ease, and his fears to rest.

"Sheena…thank you." Lloyd muttered, wiping any possible tears away from his eyes. Here he was, staring into Sheena's soft brown eyes, her gentle words putting his soul to rest. His mind flashed back to Heimdall, to her simple statement that caught him completely off guard, that jolted everything he thought he knew about life, relationships, and Sheena.

"_I…I want to be with you Lloyd"_

"I…" Lloyd began…struggling with the words, with his head.

"Yes?" Sheena spoke softly, patiently watching and waiting, silently praying and hoping.

"I…" He began again…before closing his eyes and breathing deeply. He had admitted defeat once again, desperately wanting nothing more than to rewind time and forget even starting this conversation. "I am lucky to have you as a friend Sheena. You really are the closest and best friend I've ever had." He said, as happily as he could. He kept his eyes closed because, inside he knew, he had hurt her. It probably would have killed him to stare into her eyes after that.

"Thanks Lloyd." Sheena replied, not a difference noticeable in her voice. "Goodnight." If he could only see her eyes, he would have seen the injured hope, the unanswered prayers, and the tears that hid behind her false cheer.

With that, she let go of Lloyd, letting him sink back to the ground. "Night Sheena."

------ 1 Hour Later ------

Lloyd startled awake as a rock bounced off his head, drawing him from what had been a pleasant dream involving a family reunion between himself, both his dads, and his deceased mother. Before he could even utter a threat or even truly breathe, another rock hit him in the side of the head. He whipped towards where it came from, only to see a hand beckoning him. Not wanting to wake Sheena, who was sleeping peacefully, Lloyd quietly stood up, and walked towards the hand, connected to an arm that was connected to something behind a tree.

"Who's there?" Lloyd muttered to the tree, one hand resting on the hilt of one of his Material blades.

"An off and on friend." The voice replied. Lloyd cringed upon hearing his voice, all too aware of whom it was. Spinning around, before he could do anything at all, Lloyd had his forearm pressed against the man's neck, pinning him to the tree.

"Yuan! What are you doing here?" Lloyd growled, loud enough to get hit point across, quiet enough to not disturb Sheena. For a moment, Yuan had been more surprised then hurt, but very quickly his eyes turned fierce, as he pushed Lloyd off him.

"Calm down." Yuan spat out, brushing himself off. "Is that what people get for trying to help you?"

Another growl escaped Lloyd's lips, as he began to repeat himself. "What are you…"

"Shhhh." Yuan whispered, pointing his thumb towards where Sheena was sleeping. "Let's talk elsewhere." Without waiting for even a nod, Yuan trailed off deeper into the forest, putting some distance and obstacles in between the two males and the sleeping Sheena. "Now we can talk."

"What are you…"

"Doing here? Typical question really. If you must know, I'm following you." Yuan replied, his tone collected and calculated. "And that…was pathetic."

"What do you know?" Lloyd retorted, angered by his judgement. In what place did he have to right to belittle and insult him like that. Just because he… "Wait…how much did you hear…"

"From your deepest fear to your greatest failure. All so very touching." Yuan mocked, grinning as he watched Lloyd tremble with anger. "Don't get upset. I can tell you right away, you're no Mithos. Take that either as a compliment or an insult, I could care less. I am more concerned about how you let down that poor girl."

"And what would you know about it?" Lloyd responded, angrily. "It's not as easy for me as it would be for you or my dad."

"You love her don't you?" Yuan inquired, cutting right through Lloyd's statement. The question-like statement struck Lloyd in the chest, stunning him briefly as his mouth seemed to just drop open. Had he not been well prepared for what Lloyd's child like antics could bring, he would have laughed in his face. "Remember the ring you gave back to me Lloyd?" Yuan continued, warranting a nod from the swordsman. "Do you know who I gave that to?"

"Martel, right?" Lloyd replied with a smile, catching Yuan visibly off guard.

"Not as dumb as you used to be Lloyd." Yuan mocked again, nodding. "Yes, I gave it to Martel. But it wasn't nearly as easy as you might have thought. You see, the thing is…" A long breath interrupted Yuan, as he readied himself for what might very well be his dignity shattering in front of him. "You remind me of who I use to be, four thousand years ago…"

For the longest time, there was a silence. All Lloyd could do was stare in awe at the words he had just heard. 'Yuan had opened up to me…no wait…Yuan has opened up period…'Lloyd thought to himself, before speaking. "What?"

"I want to help you the same way Kratos helped me overcome my fear Lloyd…I can tell that you truly do love her… But I will only help you if you ask me too." Yuan muttered, sputtering out the last part in a desperate attempt to regain his composure.

"What makes you believe I need your help?" Lloyd demanded, almost insulted.

"Take it, or leave it. But I know every time you look into Sheena's eyes, you see her true feelings."

Swallowing his own pride, Lloyd looking Yuan in the eyes, delivering a threatening and cautioning glare as he nodded. "Fine…Yuan, would you please…help me?"

A smile crossed Yuan's face, not one of pride or mocking, but instead, one bordering upon sincerity. Yuan nodded, and looked in the direction of where they had left Sheena. Breathing deeply and with great length, Yuan turned back to Lloyd, and nodded. "Lloyd, you'll thank me for this later."

**_CRACK!_**

Lloyd was laying on the ground, out like a light, as Yuan rubbed his left hand gently, his knuckles red and swollen as he looked down at the freshly unconscious Lloyd. He had to smile at his handy work, wanting nothing more than to do that for the longest time. Yes, he truly intended to help him, but he was still Yuan of the Renegades. He had an image to maintain. Quickly, he dashed towards where Sheena was sleeping, and dropped a letter beside her, before making his way back to Lloyd.

"Kratos will not be happy when he finds out what's happening…" Yuan muttered, lifting Lloyd up, and tossing him onto his shoulder as he disappeared towards the Renegade base. "Oh well…at the very least, I gave him a chance to refuse."

------ In the Morning ------

Sheena stared at the unfolded letter, unsure of just what to make of it. First, she wakes up and sees Lloyd missing, and then she sees a letter left from Yuan. Like most of what the seemingly mysterious Yuan does, this letter was to the point, and about as tactful as taking a club to the side of the head.

_Dear Sheena_

_I'm borrowing Lloyd from you. I'll bring him back in one piece. I want to study his Exsphere briefly before he destroys it. It should take me about a week._

_I won't hurt him._

_He'll be at Mizuho once I'm finished._

_Yuan_

It wasn't so much the understanding of it that eluded her; it was as to why Lloyd and Yuan felt the need to not consult with her first. Sighing agitatedly, she looked up at the sky and grimaced. She was missing him already, and she hadn't even been up that long.

"Idiot…"

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A/N: Well… here's to hopping this chapter has gotten your attention. Yes, there will be back-story to what Yuan is talking about, and yes, this is going have a lot too it. I guarantee the next chapter will catch you off guard. 


	2. Chapter 2: Yuan’s Idea of Help

Insaneiac: Okay, I realize that I might have made Sheena and Lloyd seems more mature than they usually are, but that was because…well, it has something bigger to do with the story. Don't worry though; I'll get back to the roots of Sheena and Lloyd-ism.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. I wish I did though.

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Chapter 2: Yuan's Idea of Help

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Groggy. 

That was the perfect word to describe every aspect and feeling within Lloyd at the very moment. His world felt groggy, his vision felt groggy, his hearing felt groggy. If he had something called a groggy, he was sure that would be just as equally groggy as the rest of him. His first attempt at opening his eyes was a brief stint of pain before they shot close again, but eventually, he opened his eyes to the world at large.

The sun bathed down upon him, a greenish tint to it as the rays passed through the thin leaves above him. The sounds of a forest waking up filled his mind, as he twisted his head to look around him. His neck felt groggy too, but he expected that. His vision was directed to a tree, off in the distance. The same tree he found Yuan hiding behind. Instantly, his ire rose drastically. Memories of the night flowed into him, like a river freed from its dam.

"Where the hell is he?" Lloyd tried to say. What actually came out was more along the lines of, "Ugh." Lloyd grimaced at his lack of speech, embarrassed that a simple punch had rendered him completely useless. Slowly forcing himself to sit up, he heard a gasp emit from behind him, and quickly felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. He was too close to trying to attack the source of the hands when her voice pierced the caution he had set around him.

"Lloyd!" She yelled, as she gained eye contact with her freshly awoken comrade. "Are you okay?" He realized the browns of her eyes instantly, and felt much of his fear wash away. She had that effect on him, as he had only come to realize a month ago.

"Sheena…I'm fine. Just a little…groggy." Lloyd responded, smiling at the irony of his words. 'A little groggy doesn't begin to explain it.' For a brief period of time, all they did was stare at each other, when Lloyd realized that his head was bandaged. "Huh…did he really hit me that hard?"

"You're…an idiot, do you know that?" Sheena responded, sighing. Lloyd tilted his head curiously, biting back on the pain he caused himself by moving his head like that. "There's no one here but us. You took a header into the tree and knocked yourself out Lloyd. You're so careless sometimes!" Sheena replied, flushed.

"What! No way. Yuan, he punched me in the face. Right after we talked during the night." Lloyd replied, scratching the back of his head. 'Finally, a place that doesn't hurt…as much.' Lloyd mentally cheered, grimacing as he felt a tinge of pain.

"That…must have been some dream Lloyd. The only "talking" we did me telling you, while you were still unconscious, to sleep well." Sheena replied, a happy look within her eyes. "Why would Yuan be here anyways?" She asked, curiously.

Lloyd missed her last question, more wrapped up in the fact that the entire night had been a dream. That his revelation never happened, and that he was still all alone in his fear. He had never felt so let down in his life. "Are you sure…I didn't talk at all about being afraid?"

"Nope, you were as quiet as…well, the forest was really." Sheena responded, sitting down beside him.

"It felt so real though…especially when Yuan slugged me." Lloyd responded, grimacing at his folly, even if it had been a dream. Whilst his mind drifted to the dream, he twitch as he felt a tight pinch on his arm, eliciting an 'ouch' of pain from her comrade. "What was that for?" Lloyd muttered, rubbing his arm, cheeks slightly red as he saw Sheena laughing.

"There, now you know you're awake." Sheena said as best as she could, struggling to stifle her laughter. She felt herself fail in her attempt as Lloyd cast her an un-amused glare, sending her back into a raging fit of laughter. This, in turn, led to Lloyd's cheeks becoming a deeper hue of crimson.

"It's…it's not that funny…" Lloyd started defensively, before sheepishly casting his eyes to the ground. "Is it?" The tone he used was one that managed to sneak Sheena out of her fit of hysterics, long enough for her to cast an apologetic gaze to Lloyd. She failed to see the smile in time, as her arm became the victim of a pinch from Lloyd. A noticeable ouch escaped Sheena's lips. "Actually, it is funny." Lloyd roared, laughing as Sheena took her turn and blushed.

"That was sneaky Lloyd!" She stated, her face attempting to look serious, but her eyes giving it away quite easily. She was enjoying this game of back and forth just as much as he was. When Lloyd found himself only laughing harder, Sheena launched herself at him, attacking his arms with the most painful pinches she could muster. Of course, Lloyd had not only been woefully unprepared for the counter attack, but greatly underestimated the potency of the ninja's pinches. Within mere moments, he was under the mercy of the deadly pinches of death.

"Okay, okay! I give up, I give up! You win!" Lloyd hollered, his voice a mix of pain and enjoyment. Content with her victory, Sheena got off of Lloyd, leaving him to rub his now burning arms. "That was sooo unfair Sheena."

"And sucker-pinching me was any better?" She retorted, grinning mischievously. Despite his failed attempts at looking angry, Lloyd was smiling like an idiot. "Well, at least you know you're awake now." A smile decorated her face as she saw Lloyd's smile turn into a smirk.

"I think you hurt me more than the tree did." Lloyd responded, touching his bandage with his hand. Obviously, it had been a pretty nice blow, or else he was sure that this thick a bandage wouldn't have been used. "How bad was it?"

"Depends on what you mean. From where I was, it looked hilarious." Sheena began, stifling back laughter as she watched Lloyd twitch in embarrassment. "As for how bad it was…I think Raine should take a look at it." She muttered quickly, as Lloyd turned to her confused. "It looks a little more serious than I'd like it too." She spoke softly, scratching the back of her head.

Lloyd nodded, inwardly leaping and dancing with unbound joy. He had been wanting to catch up with his friends. He hadn't seen them in about a month, and was curious to see how at least one half of his friends were doing. The last thing he remembered was Raine being sworn in as the new mayor of Iselia.

"It'll be nice to see them again, and at the very least they have to have some stories right?" Lloyd stated, sounding as excited as a kid with a new toy. This was typical of Lloyd, and just like that kid, after starting to play with it, he would soon get very bored of it.

"It's been a while hasn't it…They'll probably be just as excited to see us as well." Sheena replied smiling. Inwardly, Lloyd suddenly found himself admiring her smile, finding a certain degree of familiar warmth within it. He always found himself, at sometime or another, doing this. "Um…is there something on my face?" Sheena muttered, breaking the silence and startling the swordsman.

"No…um…it's uh…nothing!" Lloyd exclaimed, as he pushed to his feet. His arms still slightly burned, but that was to be expected. As he rubbed his arms, thinking that such an act would make the pain go away, he could hear himself mentally repeating the new life lesson he had learn in his head. 'Never get into a pinching war with a decorated ninja.' "We're not going to walk back... are we?" Lloyd muttered, curious.

"Of course not. We've still got the Rheaird Yuan gave us, remember?" Sheena answered back, shaking her head. Lloyd had forgotten that, but after a month of walking, he was bound to forget some things. Still, that Rheaird meant a quick trip, and that meant the reunion was all that much closer. Smiling at the aspect of reuniting with Raine, Colette and Zelos, Lloyd walked over to Sheena.

"Ready to go then?"

"Yup." She rang cheerfully. Sighing contently, Lloyd closed his eyes for a moment, just to let the surroundings fill him, and trying to catch up with his fleeting sense of composure.

------ Renegade Base ------

Yuan grinned as he watched the monitors, studying them for any anomaly, no matter how small or large. He needed to make sure the process went smoothly, for his sake as well as his guest. Turning to a single console, he watched the more important things. The brainwave patterns, the heartbeat, the body temperature. Everything seemed to check out perfectly.

"Much more so than my experience I should say." Yuan muttered to the screen, as he turned towards a large tube. Half of it was metallic, while the upper half had a nice glass surface, providing a good view of Lloyd. His eyes were shut tight, as if he was more than just asleep, whilst a mask lay around his mouth, providing him oxygen. The entire set up made it look more like Lloyd was in suspended animation than anything else. Quickly looking back to the console, he activated the second part of his little project, and a separate section within the chamber opened up, just beside his left hand.

Another button pressed, and a long, metallic hand gently gripped his forearm, and pulled it into the compartment. Soon after, the compartment closed itself around the boys arm. Yuan walked over to a separate screen and pressed a few more buttons, causing a quiet whirring in the chamber. Happy with the entire process, he proceeded to another console, and pressed a button labelled 'transmit'.

Unbeknownst to the general world, Yuan had manage to establish a very real connection with Welgaia, giving him the ability to relay his "scouting" missions directly to the single most concerned person within the universe. Chances stood that, upon hear his report this time, his employer would be quite unhappy. 'Enraged and bloodthirsty sound like more correct terms.' Yuan mused, smirking.

A few seconds later, a blatantly un-amused face appeared on the screen. "Yuan, I trust you have something important to report." Kratos muttered. Since Kratos had relocated to the floating world of Derris-Kharlan, he had done much to turn the world into something a little more becoming of angels. Once again, Welgaia was filled with the presence of the Angels, but this time the angels focused themselves towards a more positive goal. It had been a long and rigorous process, but one that had been clearly proceeding along.

"Am I interrupting something of importance Kratos?"

"No, I was just enjoying a brief period of relaxation." Although he would never admit it to his face, Kratos had been long awaiting his next update. He wanted to know more than anyone else how his son was fairing in life. Even if he could not be there in person to watch him, he had eyes nonetheless. "But proceeding past that, how is he?"

"At the moment…" Yuan began, scratching his chin. "Tell me, what do you recall of life four thousand years ago Kratos?" Yuan asked out of the blue, visibly catching Kratos off guard. Yuan never was one to reminisce about the past, and Kratos more than usually wouldn't get past the last thousand years of his life, if that.

"I fail to see how…"

"Just humour me."

"…I am not sure how to answer that Yuan…I can remember quite a lot of things that happened that long ago…why do you ask?"

"Do you remember the time where you decided to "help me" discover my true feelings for Martel." Yuan stated, doing his best to remain as far from nostalgic as he could.

"I recall something of the sort." Kratos replied, his voice riddled with amusement. In honesty, it took some work of Kratos to recall what Yuan was referring to. It took Kratos a bit, but he suddenly clued in to what Yuan was saying. "You're referring to the time I drugged you though, aren't you?"

"Precisely." Yuan replied, drawing forth an icy silence that encompassed the room, interrupted only barely by the whirring of machines. For a while, Kratos had wholly expected Yuan to say something to break the silence. Eventually, Kratos decided to save time, and restart the conversation.

"Yuan, what are you getting at."

"Did you know your son was in love?" Yuan blurted out, hoping that the joy of finding out his son had those feelings in his heart might ease the next blow that was about to strike his long, long time friend. He looked at the screen with earnest, hiding his smile as he saw the reaction sink in on Kratos' face. He had a deep smile on his face, one of pride and joy.

"That…is a good thing to hear. A very good thing indeed." Kratos replied, his voice at ease. "But you have yet to mention why we embraced past events Yuan."

"You see Kratos, Lloyd didn't know how to tell her. In fact, he was kind of pathetic to watch." Kratos could only sigh. He knew Yuan was right, and that Lloyd probably was a miserable wreck when he tried to reveal himself. What came next was something that, even though his brain had processed into the worst case scenario department, he was completely unprepared for. "I've drugged Lloyd, Kratos, with the same hallucinogen you gave me, to help him in much the same way you did for me."

For a brief period of time, Kratos had an emotionless face. For an eternity on the other end, Yuan fought with a disgusting sense of mind paralyzing fear.

"You've…drugged my son…" Kratos slowly worded out, eyes closed in a desperate attempt to understand just what was being said. He had always known Yuan to be, at the best of times, exempt from foolishnesses like this, so this struck him all the harder. "…Yuan…I am going to kill you." Kratos growled, his eyes open and alive with rage. This was exactly what Yuan had been afraid of. And why he was more than glad that Kratos was worlds and worlds away from him.

Know Kratos like he did, Yuan had no doubt at all that he would have truly tried to kill him. "Now Kratos, listen. We both know Lloyd isn't the…quickest kid with these things. This experience will help him."

"He's my son Yuan. You should have asked for my permission."

"And what, pray tell, would your answer had been in that case."

"Same as it stands now. Except I now also want to kill you as well." Kratos growled, a rubbing his forehead. What was even worse was he found himself not only inwardly agreeing with his blue-haired friend, but also admitting that, in many ways, Yuan had been the same case. "When I asked you to watch out for Lloyd, Yuan, I really only meant keep an eye on him. I would have talked to him about this. A father-son conversation would have helped him wonders in this situation."

"Kratos, aside from the fact that this is just me passing what I've learned from you to your son…" Yuan started with a grin, something that seemed to annoy Kratos further. "…he needs to experience this emotion himself to fully grasp it. Once he does, he'll be all the better for it." Yuan replied, more gentle than he expected to be.

"I trust that you're still looking out for him?"

"I have him hooked into a hibernation chamber Kratos. He'll be in a sleep state, nice and safe. Besides, this gives me a great chance to explore something else about Lloyd."

For a moment, Kratos once again feared the worse. He couldn't help but wonder if this was just Yuan's way of pushing his patience as far as it could, and would, go. "And that would be…"

"His exsphere Kratos. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before."

Another silence grasped the two men in its clutches, this one more haunting than anything else. "What do you mean Yuan?"

"On initial scans Kratos…this thing is more power than Mithos' Cruxis crystal." Yuan uttered, looking back at where Lloyd was. When he looked back, Kratos' face was the picture of composed, but inside every alarm and every curiosity had gone off. It was common knowledge that Mithos had held the most powerful exsphere constructed. It was an advanced form of the Cruxis crystal. The fact that there was something more powerful inspired awe and inspired fear.

"…Yuan, let me see my son."

------ Iselia ------

Raine was stretching her legs as the sun rose, walking around her town of Iselia. Ever since the mayor had mysteriously gone missing, she had the mantle of control placed upon her. And in all honesty, nothing could make her happier in life. Well, aside from being lost in ruins more ancient than Kratos. However, this would do just fine for the moment. People looked up to her and respected her. She held dual roles or the most importance in so much as being the village doctor and the Mayor.

She smiled as she past the school, watching both Zelos and Colette prepare the lesson they had planned. It was an easy decision in all fairness, but one that caught Raine off nonetheless. Zelos had always been good in math, and together Raine was positive that Zelos and Colette could figure anything else. They have already both done the impossible once, what's to say they can't repeat such a feat. Not to mention that, since leaving Meltokio and becoming an official member of Iselia, Zelos had found himself making passes on a handful of woman, instead of every woman on the planet.

As she though this, she chuckled. "The great Zelos…tied down by Colette. Irony is sweet sometimes." Irony indeed, as not a month ago this village was ran by a bigot who would sooner sacrifice everyone in the village than stand up for moral beliefs. He wanted Raine and Genis kicked out. Now look at it, Raine was running the very town, and had been the single most loved mayor in the village's history.

"Good morning mayor." An elderly voice rang, as Raine turned around to face Phaidra. "Taking a morning walk as well I presume?"

"Phaidra, you can call me Raine still." She responded, smiling. "And yes, I was just giving my legs a good stretch. I have this feeling I'll be busy today."

"Well, this was to be expected when you became the mayor. Still, I hope that it will not be too hard for you."

"Thank you for those kind words." Raine replied, as the two began to make their way to the entrance into Iselia. It surprised Raine when she found her mind trailing to the pair that left on their own journey. It had surprised her quite a bit more than she thought. When Genis left to live with Regal and Presea, Raine had felt a wave of sorrow overcome her, yet she remained happy to see Genis happy. When Lloyd left with Sheena, it struck her much deeper. Where she was sad when Genis left, she was lonely when Lloyd departed. She felt empty to say the least.

"I wonder how Lloyd is…" Raine muttered, looking down at the ground. Phaidra could only use this as her cue to leave, allowing Raine her privacy. She wouldn't keep it nearly that long though, as a Rheaird touched down just outside of Iselia. Seconds later, Sheena came roaring into the village, every inch of her enraged by something or another.

"Sheena…what are you doing here?" Raine blurted out, more surprised than anything.

"I…hate…**YUAN!**" She yelled, stomping the ground angrily as she handed his letter to Raine, then stormed off in the direction of the school. More than likely, she was heading for Raine's old house, which had been given to Sheena as a "place to stay", seeing as how Raine now had the mayor's house and all. Just as Sheena stomped past the school, Zelos caught her in the corner of his. Zelos quickly charged out to meet his former comrade, a smile on his face.

"Sheena, looking goo…" He started, as a fist connected with the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. Colette, who was watching, was reduced to tears of laughter as she saw what happened. "…why does it always have to be me…" Zelos whined, as Sheena stomped off.

Raine, however, missed this completely. She was busy reading the letter over and over again. In all truth, it sounded more like Yuan was torturing Lloyd than anything. Inwardly, she felt the fires of anger rage inside her. She was tempted to go gung ho and bring Lloyd back herself, but then realization set in. She had no clue where he actually was, or if he was even in danger. Once again, she had to trust Yuan to keep him safe.

Yet she couldn't help read the letter one last time.

_Dear Sheena_

_I'm borrowing Lloyd from you. I'll bring him back in one piece. I want to study his Exsphere briefly before he destroys it. It should take me about a week._

_I won't hurt him._

_He'll be at Mizuho once I'm finished._

_Yuan_

Raine sighed agitatedly, staring into the sky. She had been so hopefully when she saw the Rheaird too. The thought of seeing Lloyd again was something that filled her with joy. Leave it to Yuan to snatch that away from her.

"…Idiot."

* * *

A/N: Well now…could Raine have unrequited love for the young swordsman? Could Sheena be in for some…competition? And Yuan's drugged Lloyd! Good thing Kratos is no where near Symphonia. Hopefully, I put the characters more …in character than the last chapter. Enjoy this, next chapter is going to be…surprising to say the least. 


	3. Chapter 3: Iselia, Home?

**Insaneiac: Nothing big to say, just enjoy the chapter folks.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Symphonia, or any of the characters within it.

* * *

Chapter 3: Iselia, Home?

* * *

"Zelos…sometimes I wonder if you even have a brain." Raine muttered as she watched the former chosen pick himself up off the ground. A longwinded sigh escaped the flirtatious swordsman as he picked himself up off the ground, brushing off a good bit of dust and dirt off his clothes. Raine was sure he knew that this was going to happen, one way or another. Sometimesthe thought slipped in that he might even actually like getting clocked by Sheena. 

"It was only a compliment…" Zelos muttered sheepishly, rubbing his head. They both knew that was a bold face lie. Despite his obvious tying down since the final battle with Mithos, Zelos had constantly remained vigilant in his flirting with Sheena. Sometimes it gained him a weak smile, other times it gained him a harsh comment. The rare time it would earn him either a sincere smile or a vicious date with blunt force trauma. It had been his fourth date with trauma, and the two were beginning to get very well acquainted. Still, it was not hard to tell that the red-headed swordsman held a soft spot for Sheena.

"Zelos…you're hopeless. You know that right?" Raine muttered, resting her forehead on her right palm. Although she would never say it aloud, Zelos had been doing better. Colette had been effectively rubbing off on him, slowly brushing away his ignorance to woman and his constant flirting. However, it still seemed that he had a weak spot for the ninja. A very weak spot as it were. "You might want to make sure Colette doesn't die from laughter Zelos." In an instance, Zelos whipped his head to the door of the school, where he saw Colette slumped up against the wall, laughing so hard she was crying. Inwardly, it felt like Sheena had just shown up to deliver another blow to Zelos, aiming this time for hisego.

"That's not very nice." Zelos muttered under his breath, as he rushed off to the hysterical Colette, leaving Raine allto her lonesome. Once again, her eyes rushed over the letter, almost as if to see if a new line had magically appeared on the letter.

Raine grimaced, folding the letter up. The letter sung of Yuan, yet his intentions for taking Lloyd just did not add up. 'It's just not like Yuan to do something like this…' Raine muttered mentally, cursing herself for not keeping tabs on where the new Renegade base was. After the merger of the planets in Symphonia, Yuan had moved to a new location, taking everything but the kitchen sink from both bases. Unlike before, where he would hide in plain sight, Yuan had picked a place that has remained a secret. 'Martel help you if you hurt him Yuan…' She mentally reaffirmed, before heading off to talk with Sheena.

"It's not funny, my little Angel…she really hurt me…" Zelos whined, only drawing more laughter. "I could have been seriously hurt, or worse."

"Zelos…" Colette began, choking back the laughter as best as she could. She soon found this impossible, thanks to a wounded look on Zelos' face, and once again descended to a fit of laughter, barely choking out in-between laughs, "I'm…sorry" With a grunt, Zelos stormed back into the school, huffing and puffing like a child who had his favourite toy crushed.

------ Renegades Base ------

"Just remember, you asked for it." Yuan stated as hewalked briskly towards a large, black screen, directly across from the chamber Lloyd was currently sleeping in. With the press of a button, the large screen clicks on. After a few more buttons were pressed, Kratos appeared on the screen, and gave him his first full look at his son. "Sleeping like a baby." Yuan quipped smugly, waving a hand in his direction. "He's much less annoying unconscious you know." The statement earned him an icy glare from the father, who quickly turned his attention back to Lloyd. There was his son, inside a tubular construction, totally disconnected to the real world.

An elongated and stressed sigh filled the empty room, as Kratos laid eyes on his unconscious son, currently in a technologically and drug induced coma. To say he was unimpressed with Yuan at the time would be a very large and very flawed understatement. Yet, seeing as how he was beyond an immense distance away from the seraphim, all he could do was glare, growl, and plot the destruction of everything Yuan held dear.

"Yuan, I am beyond distressed about this."

"Yes Kratos, I know you are. Lucky for me, you're nowhere near me." Yuan answered with a confident smirk on his face. Many would consider Yuan insane to goad Kratos on in such a matter, but both of them knew that Yuan was only trying to lighten the mood.

"This crystal…it's more powerful than Mithos'?" Kratos inquired, still unsure of how to accept such news. A nod from Yuan gave him the same answer he knew was coming. "How is that possible?"

"That's just it Kratos…I don't know. As far as I can tell, this power wasn't a constant." Yuan began, scratching the back of his head. He didn't need to look to tell Kratos had a confused face on. "To put it simply…something caused his exsphere to evolve."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because Kratos, when I 'saved' your son from you at the Tower of Salvation, I had Botta run a scan on his exsphere. It was barely as powerful as mine at the time, and even that is a step up for a regual exsphere. And yet now it's increased dramatically in power." Yuan explained, turning to look at his long time friend.

"Simply put…his exsphere has advanced to a new stage of power?" Kratos stated, raising an eye curiously.

"To put it simply."

A loud whirr filled the room, catching the attention of both Kratos and Yuan. Yuan's head quickly turned to face Lloyd, who looked to be in perfect condition still. A breath of relief escaped his lips, silent enough for it to escape Kratos' hearing. Walking towards a console, Yuan punched a few keys and brought up a window of results. His eyes snaked along each line of information, a very rare mumble acknowledging anything especially unique. It wasn't until the end that something truly surprised him enough to force his eyes open to their fullest.

"What is it Yuan?"

Yuan pulled away from the screen, an incredulous look upon his face as he reread the last line. "For starters…this isn't a Cruxis Crystal."

"Then what is it?" Kratos replied in a confused manner.

Yuan turned to the screen, visibly alarming Kratos with the same look he gave the monitor. "I…have no idea." And then, with a slight turn of his head, Yuan let out a deep breath. "And there is something else Kratos. Something that confuses me even further than what this thing is."

Kratos was struck silent and confused, his head tilting to some extent. 'What could be even more confusing than the fact that this exsphere has no identity?' Kratos thought, before grimacing woefully. "So…what is it then?"

------ Iselia ------

"So what was that about Zelos?" Colette asked, composed once more. Now that she was done embarrassing her close friend, she wanted to try and make things better for him. That and she was curious as to why Sheena would show up without Lloyd anywhere nearby. If anything, it made her nervous.

"I gave her a compliment, just a nice compliment, and she slugs me." Zelos muttered, before pouting.

"No no…I mean why did Sheena return?" Colette replied, tilting her head curiously as Zelos' teetered over on his left leg, before hunching over in defeat.

"Why does nobody care about me?" He muttered very quietly, rubbing the back of his head. Then, with a sudden kick of self-confidence and narcissism, Zelos whipped back up to a straight posture. "She's probably back because she missed me! Don't worry my Voluptuous Hunnie; the Beautiful ZelosIS ONHIS WAY!" Zelos proclaimed, striking a pose filled to the brim with vanity.

"Um Zelos…maybe Raine should check if you hurt yourself after getting hit." Colette replied innocently, flashing him a sincere smile. However, the combination delivered a crippling blow to Zelos' ego, which soon collapsed on top of him.

"Why must you be so harsh?" Zelos moaned, hunched over once again.

Elsewhere, outside the door to Raine's former house, stood the half-elf woman, lost completely in thought. Moments ago, she was about to knock on the door to have a chat with Sheena. Raine was not only annoyed by this sudden development, but she was also worried that Sheena might be taking it poorly. Raine had known all to well and good that Sheena, if anything, considered Lloyd an extremely important person to her. Even Lloyd and Genis weren't this close as friends, and that was truly saying something. Although her gut told her that it was always something more, something deeper, she reserved herself to the knowledge that it wasn't set in stone. With a slight shake of her head, Raine finished what she started, rapping on the door gently.

"Zelos…if that is you I swear…" Raine heard, as the sound of vicious and angry stomping fast approached the door. For a shred of time, Raine began to worry more about her own physical well being. Sheena, when angry, was easily one of the most dangerous beings on the planet. The door was nearly ripped off its hinges, as Raine came face to face with Sheena. A furious Sheena. "Oh…Raine." Sheena began, quickly replacing a scowl with a smile. "Raine! How are you?" To say the least, Sheena's very sudden and blatantly forced change of emotion left Raine blinking in an uncomfortable union of confusion and surprise.

"Um…Sheena…are you okay?" Raine blurted out, still lost in the mingling emotions. She closed her eyes for a moment to get her mind back together. When she opened them, Sheena was still smiling the most sincere smile she could fake. Were it anyone but Raine, chances are it would have passed.

"Ahh, don't worry about me. I guess smacking Zelos was just what the doctor ordered."

"No, I wouldn't say quite that. Now I'll have to check him. Next time, punch a tree or a wall." Raine uttered, rubbing the back of her head. 'Not to mention, his whining will be the death of me now.' She added mentally as a long sigh filled the silence. "Or at the very least, wait until Yuan shows up and punch him." Raine knew the moment she said his name that she had made a mistake.

Sheena's left eye twitch as she heard Yuan's name, catching Raine off guard and effectively de-nerving her. "Zelos had that one coming. And Yuan has plenty more." Sheena answered back, her voice carrying a very deadly tone to it. The fact that Sheena hadn't gone off on a rampage to find Yuan showed just how much thought he put into picking his location. "Don't worry Raine, I'm fine now. Just needed to blow off a little steam." Sheena finished, nodding.

With a sigh, Raine nodded. Raine absolutely knew that Sheena was not okay, but she was not about to push something her friend didn't want to talk about. "Alright then Sheena. I'll be at the mayor's…" She stopped herself, sighing agitatedly. "At my house rather, if want to talk about anything." Raine finished, handing Sheena the letter. With one more sincere stare, Sheena smiled.

"Thanks Raine." Then with that, Sheena shut the door, and Raine walked off. When Sheena was sure that Raine was gone, she rested her back against the door, and slumped to the ground. "Now I want to hit Zelos again…" Taking one more look at the letter, Sheena let it drop to her side. Her mind began to drift back to the moments before they went to sleep, the moments were Lloyd was struggling to saysomething. Apotent frown formed on her face as she looked up at the ceiling."What did you want to say last night Lloyd…?"

------ Renegades Base ------

"Impossible! Just impossible! It's got to be something else!" Kratos exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the desk beside him. What Yuan had said, even the very idea of what he said, made absolutely no sense. It wasn't only impossible, but it was fundamentally unexplainable and disregarded almost every single thing that the two had learned about exspheres.

"It is just like I said. His exsphere is currently in a dormant state. It's a sleeping dragon that, in its slumber, is still more powerful than Mithos' Cruxis crystal." Yuan recounted, his voice seething disbelief. "Kratos, do you have any idea what this truly means?"

"That my son is in possession of an exsphere more powerful than the one the mighty Lord Yggdrasill once wore?"

"More than that Kratos. If it is dormant, that means that his exsphere could be countless times more powerful than it is now. If this thing is awaken, I have no doubt in my mind that Lloyd could do the impossible. Without the eternal sword or anything like that sort. For all we know, he could become the closest thing to a God this world has even seen." Yuan voiced, his concern evident. 'Lloyd could very well split this world in two with a single thought.' Yuan mused in his head.

Kratos could only watch his friend state the horrible, before his eyes adjusted to the sleeping Lloyd. "Anything else?"

"I need to know everything that happened after your duel with him. Everything. Maybe I can put together an idea of what could possibly cause this to happen." Yuan spoke with authority, glancing to Kratos. "That's a starting point. From there I'll need to run tests, experiment with it, do everything possible to determine as much about it as possible. To do that, I need to begin with some information."

"Your best bet then, Yuan, is to ask one of his friends. I was not present after our battle at Origin's alter." Kratos replied, resting his forehead on an open palm. "They will be more help to you right now than I could be."

"Any suggestions as to who might be a better help than others?"

"Considering you snatched him up in the middle of the night while he was on a journey with Sheena, I would greatly urge you to stay away from her. She might very well hurt you Yuan." Kratos replied, nodding with sage like know-how. "I suppose you could ask Regal or Raine. The others might be too busy dealing with the fact that their friend is in a coma. Or that it looks like you've kidnapped their friend and put him in a coma."

"Thank you Kratos. I'll let you know if anything arises." Yuan finished, a nod from Kratos ending their conversation. With the press of a button, Kratos' face disappeared from the monitor, leaving Yuan to his lonesome. He soon found his view shifting to the unconscious teenager, a smirk plastered on his face. "Once more I find you are full of surprises Lloyd."

------ Iselia ------

In a clearing none too far from the gate to the village of Iselia, a single Rheaird touched down, Lloyd and Sheena on top of it. Since they only had one of them, Lloyd steered it whilst Sheena rode on the back, arms wrapped around Lloyd in case he turned too sharply. A fall from the height like that would always be fatal, no matter what. It was one of the more unnerving facts about flying on one in a pair.

"Um…Sheena? You can let go now. We're on ground…" Lloyd spoke, catching the unaware Sheena off guard. Almost instantly, Sheena's arms whipped to her sides, and a nonchalant look threw itself onto her face. Of course, she doubted that when she threw her arms to her sides, she would actually throw herself off balance enough to fall off the Rheaird. With a thump, Sheena landed flat on her butt, and sent Lloyd into a fit of laughter.

"OW…That is NOT funny Lloyd." Sheena yelled, rubbing her butt as she stood up. However, despite her analysis of the situation, Lloyd could only laugh harder at her retort. Seeing this, Sheena blushed in embarrassment, before giving an angered glare to Lloyd. Seconds later, a rock bounced soundly off Lloyds head, and he fell off the Rheaird.

"Hey! I'm still injured you know!" Lloyd exclaimed, rubbing his head. All that it got in turn was a smirk from Sheena. Picking himself up off the ground, Lloyd grumbled under his breath aggregately, as he inserted the Rheaird back into the wing pack. "Maybe you gave me the head injury Sheena."

"Don't be silly Lloyd." Sheena replied, as Lloyd walked off towards the village. "I am much more thorough." She muttered quickly, just quietly enough for it to escape Lloyd's ears. Quickly, she caught up with the swordsman as the entered the village, a group of smiling faces quick to meet them.

"HEY! EVERYONE! LLOYD'S BACK!" One man yelled, charging off towards the other end of the village, screaming the same message at the top of his lungs. With a bit of a crimson hue on his face, Lloyd smiled and waved. To say the swordsman had become a bit of a legend within the village (and all of Symphonia to be exact) would be a bit of an understatement. While the world in itself still believed that it was Colette who eventually brought forth the salvation, they all knew just what Lloyd did for the world. And the village, with no small thanks due to the boasting of Zelos, knew that it was him who truly saved the world. Although in some versions, it seems Zelos neglected to remind everyone that Lloyd himself sprouted the wings, and filled in the blank by saying it was he who lifted him up into the sky. Needless to say, the village had missed its legend greatly.

"Lloyd!" a voice yelled out, as Colette burst from the growing crowd, and threw her arms around the swordsman. "Lloyd you're back! I missed you. Everyone missed you." Colette blurted out, her voice a mix of joy and excitement. Lloyd smiled down at her like an idiot. "Oh no…Lloyd…what happened?" She continued, rubbing a hand along his bandaged head.

"Oh this…this is nothing. I…um… got into a fight and took a bad blow to the head." Lloyd blurted out, smiling. A nudge caught him in the ribs, causing his head to turn to Sheena's.

"Lloyd, wasn't there some kind of vow against that?" She uttered with a smirk on her face as she watched him turn a slight shade redder. "If I recall, didn't it go something like 'Lying is the first step on the path to thievery'?"

"Stupid Dwarven vows…" Lloyd muttered, Sheena giggling at his reaction. After casting an un-amused look towards the ninja, and grimacing as he caught her playful look in her eyes,Lloyd turned back to Colette, who was still worried about him. "I…um…took a dive…" Lloyd began, struggling with the words. "Into a tree." For a brief period of time, there was silence.Thenall of a sudden,the crowd broke into an outrageous chorus of laughter, casting the poor boy into an endless field of embarrassment. His face soon matched his attire, as he tried desperately to sink into the ground, away from the crowd. Soon, an arm wrapped itself around his shoulders, and he found himself being jerked around by the former chosen of Tethe'alla.

"BUD! Don't sweat it. We all have a few little stumbles. At least you had a tree to break your fall." Zelos blurted out, only eliciting more laughter from the crowd. A nudge to his ribs manage to get Zelos to release his death grip.

"Not really helping Zelos." Lloyd muttered, as a staff landed gently on the top of his head. Quickly, Lloyd whipped around to see Raine standing there, an incredulous look upon her face. "Professor!" Lloyd exclaimed, a sincere smile on his face, before he shrugged. "I mean Mayor!"

"Lloyd, what will I do with you? Professor will be just fine." Raine muttered, shaking her head in dismay. A goofy grin soon replaced Lloyd's embarrassed face. "Well, come on then…let's get moving. I'm guessing you're here so I can take a look at it, though why you didn't just visit the doctor in Meltokio or Flanoir baffles me. Sheena, could you wait for Lloyd, it should only take a few moments."

"Sure." Sheena replied, as she strolled off towards the house Raine and Genis once lived in. Cutting through the crowd, Lloyd followed Raine to her new home, the mayor's house. It was a definite improvement in size compared to her old house, and served as her living quarters and workplace. Raine had single handily become the most important person within the city, not just for her status as mayor, but also because she served as the primary doctor. An honour that, while she looked very happy to take, was distraught of doing so. So much importance meant that she had no time for ruins.

"Okay Lloyd, take your bandages off, and let me take a look." Raine said with authority. Lloyd nodded and quickly unravelled the band-aides around his head, revealing a rather large cut along his forehead, with good bruising surrounding the cut. Although it was painful, it looked worse than it felt. Or that was how it looked to Raine. "And you did this by accident?"

"Honestly, I don't actually remember how this happen." Lloyd replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hmm, you might have some memory lost then. What do you remember?"

Lloyd struggled with this one, running the question over and over again in his mind. What he thought he remembered turned out to only be a very realistic dream. How he was going to manage to actually answer that confused him. "Actually, Professor…I don't rememberanything about how thishappenedat all. What I did recall had all been one big dream." He could only grin sheepishly as Raine sighed out agitated, casting an almost worried glance at Lloyd.

"Here." Raine muttered, pressing her staff to his head. A green light surrounded the cut, healing it up cleanly, but leaving the bruise around his head. "Maybe that will teach you to watch were you're going." She muttered, resting her staff agaisnt the wall. "Lloyd, have you thought of settling down yet?" She knew that the question had caught him off guard just from the sound you Lloyd's repsonse.

"I can't rest yet Raine…there are still exspheres out there. I refuse to stop until I get rid of all of them." Lloyd replied, rubbing his head. 'Still hurts, but not as much.'

"Lloyd, you don't need to. With the Desians gone, and Cruxis eliminated, there's no need to do something like this. The world is at peace. Sheena should start getting ready to take over as chief for Mizuho, and you should think about settling back into here, your home." Raine spoke calmly, walking towards her kitchen. She turned briefly to see Lloyd deep in thought. "Lloyd?"

"I was…thinking I might go with her." Lloyd replied, referring to Sheena. What caught him off guard was that the reply seemed to offend Raine. "I just…I feel happy when I'm around her. She's the best friend I've ever had."

"Lloyd, she's got her people to worry about. She won't have nearly enough time for you when she does become chief anyways. Besides that Lloyd, Iselia needs you." Raine answered back, almost defensively. "And Colette…Colette misses you."

"I'll visit. It's just that you have Zelos and Colette here, and Genis has Regal and Presea…if Sheena leaves she'll be alone. I don't want her to be alone." Lloyd returned, jumping as he heard Raine slam her hands down on a kitchen counter. The look in her eyes was a fierce one, and when she caught Lloyd's eyes, they looked even fiercer. "Professor, are you okay?"

"Lloyd, you don't belong with her!" She blurted out angrily, this time catching Lloyd visibly off guard. "She's not right for you! She has her people, and you have us, and it's about time you recognize where you belong in life!" She watched as Lloyd stood up, rubbing his forehead once more before giving Raine a confused and almost hurt look. "It's the truth Lloyd. What about Colette? When you left, you took a chunk of her with you. She deserves just as much a right to happiness as Sheena. Iselia is where you belong Lloyd, not Mizuho. And in all honesty, I think we both know it's Colette you belong with, and not Sheena." The fact that Raine had said something like that was enough to knock the flavour out of Lloyd's mouth. Soon, Lloyd's face was the picture of uncomfort, as he stood up from his seat, and made eye contact with the half-elf woman.

"Professor…I think I made a mistake coming here." Lloyd muttered, stepping backwards.

"The only mistake you made was leaving here with her. She has her only life to worry about, and you have yours." Raine retorted angrily. "She's not your friend Lloyd; she's trying to steal you away from us, from your real friends Lloyd." Raine finished, eye Lloyd carefully. "She's trying to steal you away from your home."

And that was when Lloyd said something that he could tell had hit a very hard note within Raine's heart. "Iselia, home? Home is supposed to be a happy place Raine. I'm really not happy right now."

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A/N: Ah, finally getting to the better parts. A little bit more is revealed about Lloyd's exsphere, but now Lloyd's "friends" are turning on him. And look, it is the first chapter to end without the word "idiot." Anyways, enjoy the chapter. The next one gets a little darker. 


	4. Chapter 4: Lloyd, You Belong Here

**Insaneiac: For the record…I want you all to tell me if I make a mistake. Nothing helps me more than you finding flaws in my writing. I swear I won't burn your houses down or anything. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or Namco.

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Chapter 4: Lloyd, You Belong Here

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Although there were no words spent, no sounds muttered, there was a war going on. A battle between a pair of sky blue globes and a pair of chocolate orbs waged ruthlessly. One gaze filled with steadfast determination and vindication, the other with defensiveness and tenacity. Neither willing to back down even an inch to the other. Raine held Lloyd's gaze in a vice like grip, just like Lloyd held Raine's. _'Lloyd, you don't belong with her.' _The swordsman heard repeated, over and over again in his head. For anyone near-by, the idea of labelling this an awkward silence would have escaped them completely. There was nothing awkward or strange or out of place about it. This was a battle, no mistaking it. Just because there were no weapons drawn, or blood split, didn't make this any less a battle than it already was. 

"Lloyd. Think about it like this. Her village has countless traditions, rituals, and rules that need to be followed. Are you willing to learn all of those just for a friend?" Raine muttered, finally breaking the silence. Once more, her voice returned to a steady, calm pace.

"She's my friend. My best friend. If anyone, you should know how far I would go to help my friends." Lloyd replied.

"Aren't we your friends too?" Raine asked, trapping Lloyd within his own statements. Lloyd was many things, but he was completely unable to let a friend, any friend, down. She knew this, and she would use it to her advantage. Anything to make Lloyd see the error of his ways.

"Of course you are." Lloyd replied defensively.

"We want you to stay. Isn't that enough of a reason to, that your friends want your company?"

That was when Lloyd realized just how trapped he was. Raine had taken his words and turned them against him. "But…Sheena is my friend too." Lloyd repeated, lowering his eyes. "And…she makes me feel…special." Lloyd forced, looking away from Raine. _'Why are you doing this to me Raine?'_ "I won't abandon her."

"Lloyd, you don't have to. You can always go and visit her at Mizuho. But she's going to be the chief soon, she needs to prepare." Raine fought back, pushing Lloyd deeper into the mental corner. She had him right where she wanted him.

At least, that's what she had thought. "But I can visit you guys too. We both win. Sheena would have me around if she needed help, or someone to comfort her, or just a friend to talk to. I can always come visit Iselia when it's too busy in Mizuho." Lloyd replied with a smile, thinking he had reached a compromise. His hopes would soon be dashed by a scowl rolling onto Raine's face.

"So, you're putting _her _before us then?" Raine retorted, almost growling. Now Lloyd was seriously confused. Her voice, her body language, her eyes, they all came off as someone who was rejected would. Her presence seethed the very essence of dismissal and jealousy. "Lloyd, you don't belong with her. You belong here with us. Iselia is your home, not Mizuho. And _we_ are your real friends, not her."

For a brief period of time, although a period of time moving at a snail's pace, Lloyd stared at Raine. "Professor…you're wrong." Lloyd muttered, before turning his back on her and making his way towards the door. _'I never thought I would ever say that to her…'_ Lloyd mentally critiqued, as he pushed the door open. Before leaving, and without looking back, he spoke again. "Sheena would never make me choose between you guys or her." And with that final statement, Lloyd exited into the village, and began to head off towards the house Sheena was staying at. To say he was confused by Raine's sudden change in her emotions would be an understatement to be sure. He couldn't understand why Raine would be so angry about Lloyd wanting to be around Sheena. And like one thing to another, Lloyd's thoughts changed to Sheena. He remembered what he had said about her to Raine, and how weird it felt to say it.

"She makes me feel special…why can't I just say it…" Lloyd grunted, slouching over. "Why do three words have to cause so much trouble." Lloyd moaned. If he had trouble even saying something as easy as 'feel special', how was he every going actually say what he felt? _'This would be so much easier if she would just say, or do something first.'_

------ Iselia (Real) ------

Night time was descending upon Iselia, the sky becoming like fire. A pale orange wrapping around them from the sky as the mighty sun descended into the horizon. There was not a cloud lingering in the sky, leaving a perfect and flawless sunset, as beautiful as could be. So much so that it threatened to distract the blonde little chosen from a task she herself had set out on. Giving her head a good shake, she continued on towards the temporary house of Sheena. As far as Colette could tell, Sheena had not come out since arriving in the morning. To her, that was just not right. When she was no more than an arms length from the doorway, Colette felt herself lose her balance, and with a quick "eep", the former chosen of Slyvarant collided with the door.

Sheena, who had still been resting against the door by herself, stretched her arms out just as it was hit. Of course, the sudden impact, plus the fact that Sheena was spending all her attention on dreaming about the levels of pain she would subject Yuan to once she got the chance, had caught the ninja completely off guard. With a frenzied shriek of fear, Sheena bolted up, whipping around to the door and bringing out her Asura card.

"Who is it?" Sheena demanded, though her voice still a little shaky from the sudden shock.

"…Ow…" The voice replied, lightening Sheena's senses. Slipping away the card, she opened the door to see Colette sitting down, rubbing her head. Taking a quick look at the door, Sheena noticed a rather complete impression of Colette's forehead on the door.

"Jeez Colette, are you okay?" Sheena asked, looking briefly at the door and then back at the blonde.

"Yes…Sorry Sheena." Colette replied with a smile, still rubbing her head. Extending her hand, Sheena helped her back onto her feet. With a few brisk brushes of her hands, Colette brushed the dirt off her clothes, and then smiled at Sheena. "Oh no…look what I did to your door."

"It's no problem. It's just got a little…character now." Sheena said with a gentle grin. "So…what's up?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk. You've been stuck inside all day; I thought the exercise might help." Colette stated cheerfully, smiling. Sheena gave a quiet sigh, bowing her head down. "Also, I kind of wanted…to talk about…things."

Sheena's head shot up, and instantly she began alerting herself to things Colette may or may not want to talk about. Specifically, her biggest worry was Lloyd. She never thought about what kind of effect this was having on anyone but herself. _'Colette and Lloyd are so close… she probably misses him way more than I do.'_ "Sure Colette. I'd love to." Sheena replied.

Clapping her hands together, Colette spoke. "Great. I'm just going to let Zelos know I'll be out." The words nearly levelled Sheena.

"THAT PERVERT LIVES WITH YOU?" Sheena blurted out, scaring Colette and alerting a good few villagers walking by. Colette, shrugging off the brief stint of fear, smiled warmly at Sheena, and nodded once, before running off towards the schoolhouse. Sheena, mouth still wide open, could only stare in awe. "He had better not rub off on her. The last thing this world needs is a female Zelos…" Sheena quipped, running a hand through her hair. She had always known that, while Zelos stayed as part of the village, Colette had been humbling him in his ways. She just never thought that Zelos might begin to grown on Colette.

------ Renegades Base ------

Yuan growled as he read the results for a third time, on the third rendition of the same test. It was the kind of answer that gives even the most steadfast and determined mines a good dose of rage. On his screen in big black letters were the words "Test inconclusive." Despite Kratos' advice of getting someone to tell him what may or may not have happened after the battle with Mithos, Yuan was still determined on trying to find out just what Lloyd had without any outside help.

"Let's see. It's dormant…it's powerful…and it's a bloody mystery." Yuan growled agitated. He began a new variation of the test, before glancing to his clock. It was beginning to get late, and if he was ever going to try and solve out everything that was going on, he'd have to go soon. More often than not, the livid dream would only last four days, which he manage to extend to five to seven days through the hibernation chamber. Still, there was every possibility he could wake up much sooner. That was one of the few non-absolutes about the drug. It showed the person what they need to see, and that could take, in extreme cases, a day's length to a month's. More often than not though, it lasted around a half week.

And then there was the one thing he had discovered, though only by sheer fluke. Lloyd's exspheres where responding, though only minimally, to his emotions. Every shift or change in his emotions caused a very minor spike in the readings. Though it had seemed like the negative emotions and more potent positive ones seem to have higher spikes than others. At the moment, it meant very little, other than the fact that the exsphere had bonded itself with Lloyd to an extent.

"Whether that's a good thing or not…I don't know yet." Yuan muttered to himself, then turned towards the door. As he walked out, he grabbed a pair of renegades, and pulled them aside. "Names. Now."

"Lord Yuan, Crispin reporting." The smaller one stated, coming to attention.

"Lord Yuan, Markus reporting." The taller one proclaimed, snapping to a firm attention pose. Obviously, Markus was the superior of the two.

"At ease." Yuan muttered, the two snapping a salute, before going to relaxed poses. "Watch Lloyd until I return, make notes of anything that might be at all important. I mean anything! Am I clear?"

"Absolutely, Lord Yuan!" The two replied in unison, reporting to the stasis room as Yuan dismissed them.

"Now then, I suppose I should go see if Regal is in." Yuan muttered, making his way to the teleportation room. What better way to get to Altamira than by instantaneous travel.

------ Iselia (Lloyd) ------

Rapping his knuckles on the door a few times, Lloyd took a quick gaze into the sky. It was noon, or at least noon-ish, as far as he could tell. Banks of clouds were rolling in from practically every side of the sky, and none of them looked like clouds of the friendly nature. Yet to it all it held a sombre beauty, like a painting world. A picturesque display of nature's ability to stun the senses. Unbeknownst to himself, he had lost track of his thoughts and surroundings in the rather odd sky, and had failed to notice Sheena had opened the door. She grinned at Lloyd as she watched him stare intently into the sky. Using her ninja like silence, she brought her head as close as she could to his left ear as she could, and just when she thought she had him…

"Boo." Lloyd shot, catching Sheena completely off guard, and causing her to jump. However, her momentary lapse in balance soon caught her, and she tumbled into Lloyd. Like the domino effect, she and Lloyd tumbled down the brief few stairs of the house before landing with a thud. Lloyd was lying on his back, dazed and confused, while Sheena lay on top of him, equally as confused.

"Ow… Lloyd you dork." Sheena muttered, eyes closed as he lifted her head. When her eyes opened she noticed that their faces were no more than a hands length apart from each other. Soon, she found herself blushing as she realized the position she was in, a slow smile slipping onto her face as their eyes made contact and locked together. While anyone else might have jumped instantly to their feet and try and cover it up with some excuse, the two just rested there, staring into each other's eyes.

'_Dammit Lloyd…say something…do something.'_ "…Sheena…" Lloyd barely whispered, as he stared deep into the summoner's beautiful brown eyes. It was about then that he noticed two things. The first was just how incredibly stunning her eyes were, and the second was just amazing she looked when she blushed. Suddenly, from wanting to do or say something, Lloyd began to hope that the moment would never end. Slowly, Lloyd could feel the distance between them flicker, and slowly fade, until their lips where no more than a breath apart from each other. _'Sheena…'_

"Lloyd!" A voice called out, it's sudden and from-out-of-nowhere-ness startling and striking both of the brown eyed humans to reality as well as causing both to nearly leap out of their skin. In what had almost been a perfect moment for the two had suddenly reduced itself to an awkward pair of glances, and a pair of equally red blushes. Lloyd turned to face where his name had come from, and saw Colette standing just a small ways from the house. She smiled warmly at the two, before running up to Lloyd and latching herself to his arm. "Lloyd, I missed you!"

With a quick look at Sheena, who gave him a weak smile at best, Lloyd felt his heart sink back into his stomach. "I missed you too." Lloyd replied, as happily as he could. He watched Sheena walk back into the house, feeling depressed with the fact that he had let the moment slip away, before turning back to Colette.

"Comon Lloyd. Now that you're back, I have so much to tell you. You won't believe what Zelos tried to do to the professor, and..." Colette began, walking off towards the school, more likely than not heading to the secret place the two had found way back when they were no more than eight and seven respectively. With one last sigh, Lloyd caught up with Colette, not wanting to let his friend feel unappreciated.

------ Colette's Secret Place (Real) ------

Pushing through the last bit of shrubbery, Colette and Sheena emerged into a beautiful hilltop field. Aside from the small forest of trees that lay behind them, they had a perfect view from the cliff top perch. From it, one could watch the sun set into the decent perfectly, and look down upon the village. It was high enough to give a perfect view of the village below, and how the setting suns glow basked it. Sheena could also clearly see Martel…and Corrine's temple. . In the middle of the large field was one large willow tree, with branches the stretched down to the very ground, forming a natural, full circle curtain. Sheena was stunned at just how serene and natural the place looked, and confused as to why she could never see it from the village. Colette simply smiled from behind her, arms behind her back as she watched her friend stare in awe.

"Colette…this place is beautiful." Sheena spoke, walking slowly towards the willow tree. "How did you…?"

"Lloyd found it actually... We were exploring and he stumbled into this place. He decided it should be my special place in life, so I come here whenever I need to think or be alone." Colette replied, walking up carefully to the ledge. "The view from here is amazing." Sheena could only nod in agreement, as she was stunned by the beauty of it all.

"So…you and Lloyd must be pretty close." Sheena muttered, as happily as she could. _'He must love her…this place is just so…'_ She sighed as quietly as possible, mentally waving away her hopes.

"Yup. He's like my brother." Colette replied, once more shocking Sheena. "He's always there to protect me, to comfort me, to help me when I fall. He pushes me to go on, and if I ever need a hug… He's my big brother." Colette stated, turning around to face Sheena. "Sheena, are you okay?"

'_YES!'_ Sheena screamed in her head, doing everything she could to keep from dancing. "You bet. So…you come here to think then?" Sheena replied, masking her excitement with curiosity. Her answer came in the form of a nod from the blonde girl. "Like, think about what?"

For a minute, Colette looked away sheepishly. "Recently…about Zelos." Colette replied weakly, looking everywhere but at Sheena, which was probably for the better, considering the look of absolute intrigue on Sheena's face. "I think…I might like him…" Colette continued, blushing. Sheena's face contorted from one of intrigue to one of awe. Still avoiding Sheena's eyes, Colette flashed her a warm smile. "He's cute and nice and funny…"

"Okay, stop for just one minute here." Sheena interrupted, surprising Colette. It was then that the young former chosen had noticed a look of absolute confusion and horror on the ninja's face. "You…the single most innocent person to walk the face of the planet…Like HIM!" Sheena exclaimed. She was shocked even further when Colette nodded her head. "Okay, I thought it was a bit of a stretch when you cared about me, even as I was trying to kill you…but that pervert…" Sheena tried to put together, failing miserably. "Does he know?"

"Nope. In fact, I still think he wants to be with you…" Colette began, before slapping both hands over her mouth. Once more, Sheena shot up in surprise. "Oh no…I'm sorry." Colette spouted worried. She was relieved to see Sheena wave it off.

"Don't be…" Sheena said, sighing in relief. "He just acts like that because it's his way of being caring. I guess in a way, he's like a brother to me too. Though, the kind that I would gladly pound into the dirt most of the time." Sheena finished, grinning almost evilly. The two went back to a subtle silence, both letting the view and the scenery take them. Finally, after the light began to fade away, leaving night, Colette spoke again.

"Sheena. Do you like Lloyd?" Colette blurted out of nowhere. Once more, Sheena shot up in surprise, but was completely unaware that she had developed a nice shade of red on her cheeks to go with her surprise. "OH, I'm sorry. Never mind." Colette fixed, turning around quickly to give Sheena a chance to stop blushing.

"Yes…" Sheena muttered, though Colette didn't hear her. At least, Sheena didn't think Colette heard her. Although Sheena couldn't tell, Colette was smiling as she heard her answer.

'_Cause I know Lloyd likes you too Sheena.'_

­------ Iselia Village ------

Raine, who was just closing up shop, so to speak, sighed out. Slowly, she put away her various unfinished paperwork and documents, and set a kettle in the kitchen to make a nice cup of relaxing tea before walking over to the fireplace, a feature her old home woefully lacked. Raine started a fire, letting the tinder catch and letting it catch before placing the cover in front of it and sitting down in her chair. Reaching beside her, she pulled up a rather large book she had been reading for the last few days. Yet despite her eyes rolling over each word, her mind drifted to how she found herself in this predicament. How did she go from setting out on a journey with Genis to dispel the hatred surrounding half-elves to running the town she spent most her life in?

_------ Iselia, one month prior ------_

"_Genis, I just want to pick up some small things from our house before we leave." Raine spoke with authority, as the two half-elves walked into Iselia. She was already distressed with the fact that she had missed out on saying goodbye to Lloyd and Sheena as they departed on their journey, and earnestly wanted to get moving rather than waste anymore time lounging around. Genis simply nodded in response, still quiet from his brief but hard goodbye with Presea. As the two walked towards their old house, Raine heard a loud stint of commotion break out from the School. Briefly forgetting what they had come for, Genis and Raine ran towards the commotion, only to see the Mayor getting heckled at by the village._

"_GET OUT OF HERE!" _

"_WE DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE!"_

"_JUST LEAVE LIKE THE DESIANS!"_

"_Hey!" Zelos yelled charging in front of the crowd. Colette quickly joined him up front, and soon the attention was on the red-headed newcomer to the village. "Listen, we can't just turn into a mob okay!" Zelos yelled, only to get yelled back at. Raine could see, quite visibly, that this was going very poorly._

"_Raine, do something…" Genis muttered, nudging his sister. _

"_THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?" One man yelled out, throwing a tomato at Zelos. The piece of produce hit it's mark, exploding against the former chosen's face. Soon, the village had turned on him, laughing and pointing as they continued to demand the Mayor's exile._

"_EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Raine yelled at the top of her lungs, silencing everyone instantaneously. All eyes were now on the level-headed half elf as she stormed towards the crowd. "You are all behaving like children! First of all, if you don't like that mayor, elect a new one. Exiles only lead to pain! And secondly, don't take out your frustration on people whose only goal is to settle you people down!" Raine yelled, marching up towards Zelos and Colette. Everyone could clearly see the fires of determination and annoyance raging in her eyes now, and nothing in Iselia was more frightening than a determined Raine Sage. "And you two! What do you think you're doing? You call that taking control of a situation! You need to establish a sense of leadership in situations like these! If you can't, then don't bother trying to settle a crowd down, and get the victims out of harms way!" Raine continued. With every step towards Colette and Zelos, the two stepped back. _

"_I motion for Raine Sage as mayor." An elderly voice rang, as everyone turned towards the source. Standing in it's spot was a smiling Phaidra, who was gazing at Raine._

"_Yah, Raine for mayor!" Another yelled. Soon, despite her frantic protests, the entire crowd was chanting for Raine to take the mantle of mayor. Sombrely, she glanced over at Genis, who gave her a confident nod. In his eyes though, Raine could see the sparks of disappointment. With a deep sigh, Raine mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' to Genis, before turning to the cheering and hollering crowd._

"_Fine! I'll do it. I'll take over as mayor of Iselia." _

Smiling to herself as she recalled the horrified looks on Zelos and Colette faces as she stormed over to the mob, she sank into the chair. _'Two days after that, Regal showed up. He offered congratulations to me, and to take Genis with him. I figured it'd be in his best interest to be near Presea some more…I just didn't expect to be so lonely because of it.' _Raine mused, unaware that her kettle had been whistling for a long time. Shooting up out of her chair, she rushed to the kettle and pulled it off the stove, as a loud knocking sounded at her door. Sighing agitatedly, Raine proceeded to the door, grabbing the handle and throwing open the door. "What is…"

It wasn't so much that she noticed how dark it was outside, nor was it how many other buildings were without any light. She didn't even notice the bright moon bathing the village in it's subtle glow. What she noticed was Yuan, standing cloaked, looking into her house.

"Regal was away. May I come in?" He asked, matter-of-factly.

* * *

A/N: So, what did we learn today…Lloyd fails under pressure, Colette shows up at the most inopportune times, Colette has a thing for Zelos, Zelos has a thing for Sheena (kind of) and Sheena has a thing for Lloyd. Not to mention Yuan has no clue what he is in for, and Raine's daydreams seem to last for hours. Oh…and the small thing about Lloyd's exsphere reacting to his emotions. 


	5. Chapter 5: The Pain of Betrayal

**Insaneiac: Okay, after a really funky week for me, I am back in the groove. Nothing like a pot of green tea to stir the creative juices eh? Well, this chapter is going to only raise a few more questions, but I've got some fun planned for you all. Enjoy**

Disclaimer: Let me check. Ah yes, is just what I thought it would be. I still do not own Tales of Symphonia. 

* * *

Chapter 5: The Pain of Betrayal

* * *

As one of the eight who fought Mithos in the final battle, one of the eight who had seen just about everything one could imagine try and kill them, one of the eight who had been ambushed, trapped, surprised, scared, and even stalked, Raine found herself completely and utterly speechless in ever sense of the word. Standing in front of her, standing right in front of her was Yuan. The man she swore to hurt after he nabbed Lloyd from the dead of the night, and yet she found herself completely and utterly stunned and speechless. She could visibly see Yuan, and him growing impatient for that matter, but she couldn't actually register the fact that he was standing in front of her as if her was paying an old friend a visit. Finally, after too long, Raine's head tilted to the side. The first motion she had made in the last three minutes.

"You can gawk just the same from inside the house." Yuan muttered, slipping by the stunned Raine, and walking into the house. He glanced back long enough to see Raine still standing at the door, and came to the conclusion that he might be in for the long haul. Shuffling over to the kettle, Yuan brushed his hand along it, content with the heat. With that, he went about pouring the water into a teapot. It had been a day since he attained Lloyd, and mostly all of his attention was on Lloyd, with what little he had left going either to Kratos or the Renegades. That being the case, it interfered with his ability to enjoy a cup of tea here and there. Thankfully both of the smaller attention grabbers were adept at running their own lives, though it was apparent that Kratos needed help with that time to time. "The first thing you may want to do is close the door." He grinned as he watch the door slowly shut, followed by Raine turning around carefully. "Okay, now get out whatever you need to so I can say my piece and be done with this." Yuan turned back to the teapot, pouring a cup of the drink for himself. When he turned around this time, his face met Raine's palm, as a vicious slap shattered the peace within the house.

"Who do you think you are?" Raine seethed as Yuan rubbed his cheek. As he did, a slight sigh of relief escaped into the room from his lips.

"Well. I expected worse tha…" Yuan began, before Raine punched him in the face. Raine was never the type of woman to stick straight to slaps. Although they provided a very good opening statement, and the sound of a palm whipping into a cheek never failed to unsettle someone, they never could put a message across quite like a jab to the jaw. Rubbing her hand gently, she watched as Yuan rubbed his jaw in a very similar manner. "Done?" Yuan inquired, letting his hand depart from his jaw.

"Depends on what you say next." Raine replied, cool and threateningly.

A smirk crawled across Yuan's face. "This is about Lloyd isn't it?" Ducking this time, Yuan moved past Raine's second punch, teacup in hand. Raine had spun around to throw another, only to see Yuan sitting at her table, looking as if nothing had happened. "Pour yourself a glass and sit down. What I have to say concerns Lloyd, and it is important that I am done with this as soon as possible." He knew his words had had their intended effect when Raine, though a few minutes later, finally sat down across the table from him with a cup in her hand.

"I'm listening."

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened after the battle with Mithos." Yuan stated, as if the request was nothing at all. He could tell be the incredulous stare he was getting from Raine that he must have sounded quite out of his mind. "It's important."

"So is Lloyd." Raine replied on instinct. Averting her eyes for a moment, she sighed. "I assume this is about his exsphere then?" Yuan nodded, almost as if to say that he would not bother answering the questions verbally. She waited for him to finish a rather slow sip of his tea before continuing. "I'm also assuming that you need this information to determine some variable within Lloyd's exsphere as well?"

"That is what I've come to believe." Yuan replied.

Raine stared agitatedly at the blue haired half-elf. She had wanted to say some seething comment about how he was being rude, or immature, or moronic. Yet in the end, reason won over impulse, and Raine let herself calm down before moving further. "Before I say anything, I want to see Lloyd."

"You can't." Yuan replied. "He's inside the Renegades base, as safe as could be." He added with a sigh.

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe that." Raine shot back. "I don't trust you around him." Her words remained calm, but the icy sting that complimented the words was enough to get the point across. Yuan took another long sip of the tea before setting down the cup.

"And you'll have to forgive me when I tell you tough." The look he earned from Raine was amusing to say the least. "I'm in no mood to negotiate. Just tell me what I need to know so I can be done with him."

"I'll say it again Yuan. The only way I will tell you anything, anything at all, is if I see him first." Raine restated with a voice solid with authority. Yuan stared across the table at Raine, their eyes meeting in a battle of determination. A dull and looming silence swallowed the room whole as the two half-elves remained steadfast in their choices. A pin dropping would have been enough to set the two off, but nothing sounded at all. Nothing, that is, until Yuan finally picked the cup of tea and finished it. Placing the empty cup back onto the table, Yuan nodded begrudgingly in defeat.

"Fine then. In about two hours, make your way to Triet. I'll take you to see Lloyd. After that, I need to know _everything _that happened after the battle." With that, Yuan stood up in a slight huff, and walked towards the door. "Make sure you leave some notice that you've left, but tell no one your intentions or location. Especially Sheena." Before Raine could say anything, the door opened and shut again. Raine hadn't even seen him leave, but she knew from the laidback atmosphere in the house that he had indeed left. Yuan had left almost as quickly as he had come, leaving Raine to her thoughts and her vicious self critiques.

"I should have just broken his legs and hand him over to Sheena." Raine muttered, taking the teacups to her kitchen. Content with her statement, she let her mind drift to what such an encounter might have looked like. "Marvelous…" She cracked.

Meanwhile, at the exit to the village, Yuan took one look back towards Raine's house, a smirk on his face. Despite his conversation with Raine being fairly short, one-sided, and an utter failure, Yuan was content with the outcome. She was stubborn like a mule and carried a vicious jab to her, but in the end he would get what he needed from her.

'_Of course, you know she'll want to know what happened to him.'_ Yuan mentally shot to himself, before walking out of the village, and slipping into the dead night's cold embrace.

------ Colette's Secret Place (Lloyd) ------

With as best a smile as he could muster, Lloyd sat down with Colette, staring off into the distant horizon. The day was fading into night, but the sky was filled by vicious clouds that hid the setting sun from mortal eyes. The village and the willow tree at their backs, Lloyd and Colette sat in near perfect silence; staring into the ocean and watching it fade away as darkness closed around them. It was a mysterious spectacle that held a very somber beauty to it. In many ways it was just as beautiful as watching a warm summer's sunset, though in a very opposite fashion.

"Lloyd. I missed you sooo much!" Colette spoke, smiling at Lloyd. "It just isn't home here without you."

"Aww, geez Colette. I'm not _that _special." Lloyd responded modestly, rubbing the back of his head as he blushed in embarrassment. He never could accept major compliments like that, or at least he couldn't without being humble about it. "Besides, Zelos and Raine are here too…" Lloyd followed, his mind turning sour as the professor's name sounded. _'That was completely unlike her in everyway. Why would she say things like that?' _"…so it can't be too lonely here."

"But Lloyd, it's just not the same." Lloyd found himself once again blushing from the statement, rubbing the back of his head once more. "But you're back now, and that is what matters!"

"I'm only here for a little bit Colette. Sheena and I still have to rid the world of the exspheres." Lloyd stated steadily, his voice and words displaying his devotion to that ideal. "I can't settle down knowing that there are still many of those things around."

Colette sighed in a depressed manner, something Lloyd rarely heard her do. She tore her glance away from Lloyd and stared off towards the ocean. "Can't you just get the Renegades to finish up?"

"I couldn't. I need to do this Colette. For Marble and for…" Lloyd lifted his hand up, briefly staring at his exsphere. It has been his driving force in more ways than one, and his last and only memento of his mother. That in itself carried the bitter sting and salty taste of irony. The one object in the world he utterly despised was the only object that held a connection to his mother, was the only thing he had in life that belonged to his mother. "…for Mom too."

"Then…what if I came with you? We could destroy the exspheres together Lloyd!" Colette suggested happily, clapping both her hands together in front of her and smiling to her best friend.

"Well, if Sheena's okay with it." Lloyd began, before Colette looked away. "What?"

"I meant _just _us Lloyd."

Lloyd stared at the side of his friend's head, shocked. "Colette, I can't. I promised her." He didn't expect Colette to throw her arms around him and bury her face into his shoulder. Instinctively, a hand reached to the back of her head, rubbing it softly. "It's like I promised to save you and the promise I made to reunite the worlds. I kept my promise to you didn't I? I kept my promise to the worlds, didn't I?" '_Colette…try to understand. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't break my promise to Sheena.'_

"But Lloyd…"

"Colette, if I abandoned Sheena, she would never forgive me." Lloyd reasoned, removing his hand as she removed her face from his shoulder. Gazing up at him, Colette smiled once more. A smile filled with two things from Lloyd's perspective. A deep and vibrant love and a budding madness. For the first time in his life, he found no comfort within her smile. Instead, he found an emotion he familiarized with the smile Mithos would wear.

Dread.

"But you don't need her Lloyd." Colette shot, gripping Lloyd tighter. "You have me."

"Colette…" Lloyd started, staring the girl in the eyes. His voice was steady, despite his nervous state of mind. Closing his eyes, Lloyd forced out the hardest thing he had ever said. "…let me go." He was positive that having his eyes closed was saving him from having to look at something utterly depressing, and he was right. Colette's eyes adopted a sense of devastation that began to mingle with the love and the longing.

"No Lloyd." She stated firmly, placing the side of her head against his chest, still gazing up at the swordsman. "Lloyd… I love you. Can't you see that? Can't you feel that?" Colette murmured, just loud enough for Lloyd to hear every word. She waited for him to look down at her, waited for him to stare at her before making her move. Before Lloyd could do anything at all, Colette had her lips pressed against his. He couldn't understand anything that was going on, except for the fact that Colette's lips were just as warm as her smile usually was.

Which made it all the harder when Lloyd pulled away fiercely. Just as quickly as he broke the kiss, he pushed Colette off of him and began to stumble backwards. Colette landed firmly on her butt with a dull thud, but that was nothing compared to what had just happened. The glance she shot Lloyd was heart-wrenching, but he had to shake it off. Opening his mouth to say something, anything, Lloyd caught a flicker of light from the corner of his eye, his ears twitched as the light crackling sound of a fire reached them. Turning his head to see what was going on, Lloyd's eyes shot open at the sight of a house on fire in Iselia. It only took him moments later to realize that it was the house Sheena was staying at that was ablaze.

"NO!" Lloyd yelled, turning to run towards the village. He was stopped abruptly by Colette standing in between him and the forest path. "Colette, move!"

"No Lloyd. This has to happen. Once she's gone…we can be together." Colette retorted joyously. She watched as Lloyd shook his head in agony, before running towards the cliff leading towards the village. For the first time since the end of the original journey, Lloyd's massive wings snapped into view, and he shot towards the village, ignoring Colette's cries of protest. He flew as fast as he could, the wind whipping away his tears as he went.

'_WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?'_

------ Iselia (Real) ------

Raine had finished putting together the last few things she would need, before she sat down to finish the note she began writing an hour earlier. With a long sigh, she quickly jotted down a few extra notes and rules before slipping it into her pocket. Taking the traveling pack and tossing it on, Raine exited her house and proceeded to Colette's. She slipped the letter through the slot in the door, and soon turned towards the entrance into town. The letter was a simple explanation of what needed to be done while she was gone, and she was fairly sure that, with Colette's aid, Zelos could do the job. It perplexed her as to just why she decided to give the job to Zelos, but she eventually came to the supposed conclusion that it was due to his age more than anything else. Besides, ever since he became a member of Iselia, Colette has been doing a fine job keeping him in line…most of the time.

Despite that, she was sure Zelos could manage Iselia for a few days. It was not as if she was passing the mantle onto him. She knew by fact that Zelos was not the most level-headed of the group, but with Sheena and Colette keeping tabs on him, he could keep it together. "I hope I'm not making a mistake doing this."

With all her precautions and worries out of the way, Raine departed from Iselia, and began the long trip to Triet. Whatever the case was, Raine wanted to make sure Lloyd was okay. She knew it was Yuan's fashion to work out of the public eye, or even the minority's eye. Yuan almost never announced his plans to anyone other than his band of merry men. Even then, it was more his fashion to leave out certain parts rather than explain everything. Why? She knew the answer already because the answer itself is very simple and very obvious, but yet she always found herself asking the same question whenever something that included Yuan showed up.

"Because it was Yuan. It's amazing how Kratos could put up with him for as long as he did." Raine found herself muttering aloud as she walked the path towards the house of guidance. Eventually, her thoughts turned from the dark dealings of Yuan to Lloyd. It was quite odd to her how she always seemed to end up thinking about him when alone. Sometimes it was a brief wondering of where he was, and other times she found herself thinking about how Lloyd might be feeling. It really was a random thing for her, but it never ceased to surprise her about what she would end up thinking about when her thoughts turned to Lloyd. Once, her thoughts turned to the idea that Lloyd and Sheena were living together in Mizuho. She had always thought Colette and Lloyd would be the token pair of Iselia, but that was proven quite wrong by his opting to leave with Sheena. Of course, throughout the adventure to restore the worlds, she had noticed both Colette and Lloyd began to attach themselves to other people.

Yet, who did she have. Genis was living with Regal and Presea, and upon last word from her little brother, was a junior executive in the company. Colette and Zelos had each other, whether they knew it or not. Sheena was lucky to have Lloyd by her side as they roamed the world in their task to destroy all the exspheres of the world. She, on the other hand, had no one. Sure, she could always have tea with Colette and Zelos, or when she had time, go off and visit Genis, but no one was ever always there for her.

"Well, at the very least, I get to take a break from the paper-work induced headaches." Raine muttered in false joy, just as something snapped over her head and knocked her out.

------ Iselia (Lloyd) ------

With the crowd surrounding the flaming building, Raine at the head of them all, they looked up as Lloyd came screaming towards them. Just when they assumed he would land by Raine, Lloyd adjusted himself enough to aim himself directly at the wall of the house. His wings disappearing just seconds before impact, Lloyd threw his shoulder in front of him as he slammed into the wooden frame. The fire had weakened it to the point for being like tinder, and Lloyd smashed right through it, the wall exploding into the house from the force of the impact. Going into a roll immediately after the impact, Lloyd pushed himself to his feet and shot up. He could hear three things clearly, thanks to his angelic senses. The burning of the building, the cries of the crowd outside and muffled screams coming from the bedroom. His face turned to the bedroom's direction, distraught at all the debris in his way. Drawing his Material Blades, Lloyd charged towards the room.

All around him was fire, eating away at the wood of the house and filling the house with deadly smoke. Lloyd could barely see through the smoke, once again thanks to his angelic senses, but that didn't mean he was exempt from toxic fumes. He coughed viciously as he reached the flaming debris separating the two rooms from each other. The heat was overwhelming him, and he could feel even the burning air lashing out at his face. Breathing was becoming torture to him as the superheated smoke burned and stained his lungs was every fresh breath he took. Yet he knew all too well that if he gave up now, Sheena would die. Sheena would die and it would be his fault.

"SHEENA?" Lloyd yelled, hoping his voice reached her. When he heard the muffled cries get louder and stronger, he was sure it did. "SHEENA, I'M COMING!" With that, Lloyd lifted his blades into the air, and sliced clean through a large chunk of debris. One strong kick later and Lloyd could see into the bedroom, although there was still plenty of debris in his way. He could make out Sheena, lying against the foot of the bed. She had a gag in her mouth, something that enraged the swordsman. With another growl, Lloyd backed up a bit, charging towards the blocked passage. "TEMPEST!" At the last moment, he flung himself into the air, going into a saw-like spin with his blades. He crashed through into the room, groaning as he felt fire whip at his face and body. Looking up, he came into eye contact with Sheena.

Sheena was lying up against the foot of the bed, an arm tied to each post and she herself gagged. Her head was resting on her shoulder as she continued to scream as loudly as she could through the fabric in her mouth. Hesitating for only a brief second, Lloyd cut through the bonds, freeing Sheena's hands. She quickly forced the gag out of her mouth before wrapping her arms around Lloyd and exploding into tears. Lloyd gently rubbed the back of her head in consolation before forcing her to stand up. Breaking the hug for the moment, Lloyd rested a hand on each side of her face, thumbing away a tear that was rolling down her cheek.

"Sheena, I need you to stop crying for now." Lloyd began with a strong voice as he looked her straight in the eyes. He waited for Sheena to nod before continuing. "Are you okay? Who did this?"

"I'm scared Lloyd…" Sheena muttered, Lloyd nodding. He knew that in a matter of seconds the entire building would collapse on them and kill them both. "Ra-Raine did this…she came in he-here and…" Sheena whimpered. Although she could see no visual effect on Lloyd's face, Lloyd himself was speechless with mind numbing rage. He had thought that the worse they would do was trying and split them apart, but this was beyond anything he could imagine. However, if either of them were going to get out alive, he had to put his anger aside for the time. Surveying the area, Lloyd aimed for an unblocked wall in front of him. The only issue about it was that it was entirely ablaze. He knew it was going to be incredibly painful, but it was either that or a very pitiful death. With a strong nod, Lloyd went to work.

"FIERCE DEMON FANG!" Lloyd yelled, as he sent a shockwave crashing into the wall. He sent another two, before wrapping and arm around Sheena. "HOLD ON!" Waiting for Sheena to wrap her arms around him, Lloyd charged towards the cracked wall, leaping at the last moment. He threw his back towards it, acting as a shield between the wall and Sheena. The fires ripped at his back, burning through the fabric of his clothes and burning the flesh on his back, but he felt the wall give away. The two rolled out of the side of the house as it finally caved in. Everyone watched as the building fell, before their attention turned towards Lloyd and Sheena lying in the grass beside the house.

"Lloyd? Lloyd!" Sheena shouted, looking down at her savior. Lloyd's back felt like it had melted and the pain was clouding him mind, but he smiled at the summoner. He could, for the brief moment, see the tears forming in her eyes before she buried her head into his chest and cried. "You IDIOT! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Sheena cried, wrapping her arms around Lloyd. Lloyd said absolutely nothing at all as Sheena cried into him, rubbing the back of her head in comfort. He waited for her sobs to slow down before attempting to get up. With Sheena's help, Lloyd slowly forced himself to his feet, turning his attention to the approaching crowd, led by Raine. Colette had caught up with them, and he could see Zelos moving through the crowd. To say the least, half looked stunned, the other half looked angry.

"Raine…why?" Lloyd spoke weakly, staring fiercely at the white-haired woman. Sheena slowly slipped behind Lloyd, her arms still wrapped around him as though she were afraid he would disappear. "Why?" As he waited for an answer, he felt the first drop of rain fall onto his head, as the air around them began to fill itself with falling droplets of rain.

"Because she's blinding you to whom you really are Lloyd." Raine replied with disgust riddled in her voice. "She's taking you away from us."

"Yah Lloyd. Sheena's just not the good person you thought she was." Zelos added, standing beside Raine. Although Colette also joined Raine and Zelos, she said nothing. She only stared at Lloyd, like a lost dog would stare at someone.

"No, you're wrong! You are all wrong!" Lloyd yelled, backing away slightly. The slight drizzle soon turned into a full out downpour, drenching the village and it's inhabitants as the stand off continued. Lloyd's tears began to mix themselves amidst the rain, hiding them from the public. Never in his life had he truly felt as betrayed as he had this day. "I can see just fine." _'I thought you were all my friends…why are you doing this! WHY!'_ "I see that people I considered friends aren't." Lloyd growled, pointing at Raine. "…people that I considered family aren't!" He continued, pointing at Colette. "…people I thought were nice and good AREN'T!" Lloyd finished, pointing at Zelos. "I can't believe I trusted you all for this long."

"Lloyd! Don't you see? That's Sheena's manipulation! She's ju…" Colette began, before she was interrupted viciously.

"COLETTE, SHUT UP!" Lloyd yelled. He could see the comment draw forth the tears that loomed inside Colette, as though the words had just cut through her like a knife. Looking back to see if his rear flank was still clear, Lloyd spread his wings once more. When his view returned to the group, Lloyd growled. "I don't know you people anymore. I don't know what it is, and I just don't care anymore."

"Lloyd, stop being stupid! She's the villain in this, not us! We're here to protect you!" Zelos yelled, walking towards Lloyd. In what seemed like a breaths length in time, Lloyd had one of his blades pointed at Zelos, stopping Tethe'alla's former chosen dead in his tracks. "See Lloyd. She's even got you willing to pull a blade upon your friends."

"You all just tried to burn her alive! What does that say about you?" Lloyd retorted vengefully.

"That we would do the drastic to help you Lloyd. We all love you here. We all accept you here. We just want to help you realize that this is…" Raine coolly replied before Lloyd raised a hand in the air, silencing her speech.

"I don't belong here. Not anymore. Not with people like you." With one final growl, Lloyd sheathed his weapons, wrapping an arm around Sheena protectively. His wings flapped powerfully twice before he lifted up into the air, much to the dismay of Raine, Colette, and Zelos. "I…" Lloyd tried to begin, losing the words and the meaning amidst the lingering pains of betrayal. "I hate you all." With that, Lloyd flew off into the air, speeding away from Iselia. He was fleeing, with Sheena, from the village that he once called home. Many villagers were crying out, trying to get Lloyd to stay as he disappeared into the night, while others violently cursed Sheena. Raine simply let her head hang, before looking at the two former chosen.

"Follow them." Raine muttered. With a slight bow from Zelos, the two sprouted their wings and went after Lloyd and Sheena before they got too far away. Turning around to face the crowd, Raine raised both hands into the air, signaling for silence. Though it took a while, the people did in fact quiet down and turned their gazes and ears to the mayor. "Don't worry. We'll bring Lloyd back. This is where he was raised, and this is where he belongs." Raine stated, easing the crowd's mood. Soon, the audience began to disperse, heading back to their respective homes while talking about how horrible a person Sheena was for playing such evil games on Lloyd. The rain had long since put the fire out, and everyone was just beginning to complain about the weather as they entered their houses. Raine stood outside, gazing into the air where Lloyd and Sheena had shot towards, and where Zelos and Colette were going.

And from the corner of the village, hidden in amidst the rain and the shadows of trees, a child was smiling.

* * *

A/N: So, there you all go. One hefty dose of dual action. So, we have a pair of cliffhangers here. Raine is out like a light, and Lloyd and Sheena are being tailed by Zelos and Colette. Colette tries her hand at forcing Lloyd to stay, and it only served to push him further away. What will happen next? For now, only I know that. 


	6. Chapter 6: Old Enemies Are New Friends

**Insaneiac: Yummy. Well everyone, your favorite little Insaneiac is fighting the cold from hell. Yes, I am aware just how oxymoronic that sounds, but it's true. Lucy-fer himself sent this one upon me. But will that keep me from making the fans happy? Not a chance. Oh yes…I am changing up a bit of the original story here. But I think you'll like it. Now, I guarantee that for fans who have been patiently awaiting some fluff, this will make your day…kind of. So…who should I have do the disclaimer today? OH, I know…just because I haven't actually taken a shot at her yet. **

Disclaimer: Um…what's a disclaimer? **–**Hasten whisperings- OH! Insaneiac doesn't own the story. –More whisperings, slightly angrier- Oh…I'm sorry. He doesn't own the game or the story…

…**Never mind.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Old Enemies Are New Friends

* * *

'_This was not the first time.'_

As Lloyd's back screamed in pain as it came in contact with the rushing cold air, that was all he could think about. That simple six word statement, and the fact that he had almost lost the woman he loved. What made it so much worse was the fact that he almost lost the woman he loved to the people he fought with, fought to help, fought to protect. The sting of betrayal burned him worse than the marks on his back ever could. The mental image of Raine, smiling as she watched the building burn, roared like a bonfire inside his head.

'_This was not the first time I risked my life for you… and I know that it won't be the last.' _Lloyd reaffirmed mentally, staring at the side of the beautiful summoner's face. Midway during their escape, Lloyd had given the Rheaird to Sheena, not trusting himself to keep her airborne with him. She flew it as close to him as possible, almost as through she was afraid that Lloyd might disappear. To tell the truth, he was doing the same thing, fearing the exact same thing. He loved her, he knew he did. But every time he tried to put it into words, he failed himself. This time, he had almost lost the chance to ever say it to her. But by Martel, he was not going to let that happen again. As soon as they touched down safely, Lloyd was going to say it. No matter what it took for him to put his feelings into words.

'_This was not the first time…and it won't be the last…'_

_------ Island of Decision, a month and a bit ago ------_

"…_Admit defeat." Sheena spoke, pointing a spell card at her kneeling opponent. The look in Kuchinawa's eyes was nothing short of depression, rage, and utter failure. It was painful to look at, for both Sheena and Lloyd._

"_So you don't want to kill me." Kuchinawa began, his voice livid with defeat-induced rage. "I don't want your pity…I REFUSE IT!" He yelled, pushing to his feet. His eyes regarded Sheena frigidly as he hurled Corrine's bell at Sheena's feet. Back tracking to a fair distance from the victor and observer, Kuchinawa pulled another dagger from his belt, and aimed it at his throat. "…I lost because of my own insufficient skill. Good-bye!"_

"_STOP!" Sheena screamed, dropping her hands to her side as the shock of what her once former friend was about to do. Before anything else could be said, Kuchinawa hurled the knife at the now defenseless Sheena's neck. Sheena's eyes shot open, absolutely stunned that Kuchinawa would go so far as to break the rules of the challenge to kill her. Her eyes shut as she prepared to feel the cold steel pierce her throat. A few seconds after what should have been a death blow, she felt herself fall backwards, and found herself sandwiched in between the ground and a warm feeling weight. Her eyes opened to see Lloyd lying on top of her, his face the absolute picture of agony. _

"_You…okay?" Lloyd muttered, before collapsing to the side, taking himself off of Sheena. Sheena, still confused, turned to look at the fallen swordsman and at the knife that stood out in the back of his shoulder. Her eyes soon shot open with fear, realizing that Lloyd had just used himself as a human shield for her._

"_What are you DOING?" Kuchinawa yelled, looking enraged at Lloyd. "That was meant for HER!" Sheena stared at Lloyd as he forced himself to his feet, reaching to his back and pulling the knife out. He yelled out in pain as he felt it come out of its fleshy sheath, before tossing it into the ground beside him. Sheena's mouth hung open as she watched Lloyd. _

"_The match was over…" Lloyd grunted, his breathing heavily. "And I refuse to let any senseless sacrifices continue!"_

"_Lloyd…" Sheena muttered weakly, her bottom lip trembling. She had been so sure that this was it, that she was going to die._

"_What is the point…" Lloyd began, before collapsing to a knee. His entire body was burning as if a fire was raging just beneath his skin. "…of avenging deaths? Will it bring back what you lost? All it will do is create more stupid oaths of revenge!" Lloyd choked out, forcing his head up to maintain eye contract with Kuchinawa. He was surprised to find even him staring in shock. "It's a stupid and never-ending cycle."_

"_But it is what she deserves! She took EVERYTHING FROM ME!" Kuchinawa yelled. "My purpose is to kill her, so that my life can end with a shred of honor in knowing that I've avenged my parents."_

"_That's stupid!" Lloyd choke out, glaring at Kuchinawa. "You can't die with honor! Death for death's sake is meaningless. It's living with honor that is important." He paused for a moment as he bent his head down, coughing heavily. A good chunk of blood splattered against the ground, but Lloyd found himself undeterred. Fighting with his being, he lifted his head once more, taking in Kuchinawa's gaze with his own. "There is no meaning in dying, only in living. Killing Sheena won't give your death a meaning, just like killing yourself won't either. It's how you live that matters. A meaning in life…not death…is the truth behind honor." _

_For a long time, no one said anything. Sheena and Kuchinawa stared at Lloyd in shock and Lloyd was slowly succumbing to the toxin that coated the dagger. It wasn't until Kuchinawa reached into his belt pouch, and threw a vial at the grass in front of Lloyd that Sheena's stare broke off, resting this time on Kuchinawa. "Lloyd is it? That will stop the toxin. Take it quick, as that poison kills with vicious speed." Kuchinawa muttered, before back flipping into the air, and landing on a tree branch. He stared down at Lloyd one last time, before adjusting his view to Sheena. "What he sees in you, I will never know. You don't deserve a friend like him in this life." He spoke coldly, readjusting his view once more Lloyd, who just emptied the vial. "And I will be watching you, Lloyd. I will be watching to make sure you never falter from that thinking. I refuse to let you. If I ever find out you've betrayed these words, I'll end you." With that, the man disappeared, leaving the wounded swordsman and the stunned summoner alone on the island._

"_Lloyd…why?" Sheena nearly sobbed, dropping to her knees at Lloyd's side. "You IDIOT! He could've killed you! WHY?"_

"_Because you're…" Lloyd began, still weak from the poison. His mind felt clouded, his senses numb, but at the very least he didn't feel like he was internally engulfed in flames. "…a great friend." He finished with a smile, before blacking out and collapsing into her arms._

------ Present time ------

In the distance, Lloyd could see Flanoir. That was the furthest from Iselia that he could think of. He was positive that they would be safe there, free from the madness of his once true friends. Without even needing to ask, he knew Sheena was still shook up about the whole thing. He would have been. _'Heck…even Dad would have been.'_ Lloyd mused, as his thoughts briefly drifted to Kratos. Shaking his head back to the plotting of what to do, Lloyd looked at Sheena once more. This time, they had both caught each other, making eye contact. For a brief minute, their worries faded away as they met each other's gaze, smiling encouraging smiles.

"Sheena…are you okay?" Lloyd asked for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Sheena nodded, not trusting her words at the moment. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You were just as fooled as I was." Sheena replied on instinct. Slowly, Lloyd began his descent towards the ground. For the first real time since leaving, Sheena clearly saw Lloyd's scorched back, rendering her silent. It looked so horrible, and he had suffered it all for her. "Lloyd, your back…" She started, before descending with Lloyd.

"It's just a little burnt…nothing too bad." Lloyd tried to lie, grimacing as he felt more cold air wash over it. He visibly winced in place of a yelp or a groan, and Sheena could only watch as Lloyd suffered from the burns. The two touched down just outside the snowy town, Sheena on instinct storing away the Rheaird as soon as she dismounted from it. The old familiar snow fall of Flanoir delivered as it usually did, brining pleasant memories to them. Reaching into his pack, Lloyd brought out a pair of cloaks, tossing one to Sheena. "For the time being…I think we should try to blend in." Lloyd muttered, surprising Sheena. More often than not, it was someone else who had to think like this.

"That's…actually a good idea Lloyd." Sheena replied, still slightly stunned. Throwing on the cloak, she pulled the hood over her head, watching as Lloyd slowly did the same, wincing as the fabric brushed his burns. "Lloyd…I can see if Undine or Celsius can help with that…"

"I'm okay Sheena." Lloyd replied with a smile, before walking off towards the inn. Sheena shook her head in disagreement with Lloyd, but chose not to pursue it as she followed him into the town. Keeping their heads down for the most part, the two cloaked figures entered the empty Inn, aside from the innkeeper standing behind the desk. He smiled warmly as the two entered, placing down the book he was reading and lifting a ledger from underneath the desk.

"And how are ye today?" The man spoke pleasantly.

"Good. We'd like a room please." Lloyd spoke, staring the man in the eyes.

"Okay…just-"

"Could we have a room without signing the ledger?" Sheena spoke quickly, making eye contact with the keeper. For a brief minute, Lloyd thought he saw a cold flash in his eyes as she spoke, but shrugged it off as nothing.

"That's an odd request lass…" The man spoke, coming out from behind the desk and moving to the door. He opened it for a moment, peering into the snowy night, before closing it and locking the door. "It's a cold one, isn't it?"

"It's Flanoir. It's always cold here." Lloyd replied pleasantly. The man turned to Lloyd, flashing a generic smile to the cloaked boy and nodding.

"I meant the whole world…and not just temperature wise. Emotionally. It feels cold emotionally." The man spoke, quick and fast, turning away to walk behind the desk. "Wouldn't you agree Lloyd?"

"You've got tha…" Lloyd started, nearly oblivious. His eyes shot open part way through as his name registered. "How do you know my name?" Lloyd spoke as his once happy voice faded, changing into a tone now carrying an underlying fierceness to it.

"Why don't you ask Sheena? She seems to have an idea." The man replied, his voice not as warm as it had been moments ago. Lloyd turned to eye Sheena, who silently mouthed a name. Whether she was intentionally silent or struck silent didn't matter. In a heartbeat, Lloyd had spun back to the man, hands seconds away from drawing his Material Blades. It was, however, much too late. Lloyd's head shifted downwards as best as it could, spotting the knife resting gently on his neck, the edge of the deadly weapon just slightly pushing against the flesh. Sheena too had a knife pointed at her throat, catching the both of them completely off. Flashing Sheena a cold, hateful smile, he spoke again. "I told you, I would be watching you, Lloyd."

"…Kuchinawa." The two spoke at once.

------ Renegade Base ------

There are three forms of very painful awakenings in life. One comes from sleeping on top of something, like a rock or a book. Raine had experience this one quite a few times, as she more often than not misplaced books she would read. That resulted in a stiff back, and an even further stiffened mood. Another was from too much alcohol, a pleasantry she had yet to ever experience, and if her will remained her own, she never would. The third was waking up from being hit over the head with a blunt object. More often than not, this led to three distinct effects. A mind-splitting head ache, a full set of dulled senses, and a very angry mood.

That being said, Raine felt herself coming back to reality in the fashion of one who had been hit with a blunt object. "Ugh…where…am I?" She murmured, blinking repetitively to try and regain her sense of sight. Slowly, her ears began to focus on the sound of a tapping foot, which served as a place to start. Turning towards the sound, she focused on the foot until her eyes began to clear up. Following her regained sense of hearing and sight, Raine began to focus on her surroundings, noticing she was on a rather comfy looking bed. Groaning once, she forced herself to sit up, struggling to cope with the killer headache. Her hands clenched at the fabric briefly before letting it go, her hands trailing to her face. A long groan escaped her lips as she tried to place together what had just happened.

"Take you time…" The voice muttered, flowing into her ears.

Anger time.

Raine's head shot up, her eyes locking with Yuan's in a flash. A second past before her gaze began to whip around, hunting for her staff. _'HE KIDNAPPED ME!' _She mentally yelled, as her search turned up empty. Slowly, she turned back to Yuan, who was holding her staff in his hand. To make it even worse, he was wearing a confident little smirk. "Give me my staff." Raine uttered, her voice a vicious calm. It was the kind of calm that was prevalent in most assassins, or some serial killers. When all Yuan did in response was grin a little more, Raine dropped the act of being calm. "NOW!"

"Calm down already." Yuan spoke calmly, tossing her the staff and crossing his arms. He mentally flinched as she caught it in mid-flight, holding it in the air. _'Never realized quite how scary she could get.' _"If you're quite done over reacting…"

"_OVER REACTING?_" Raine yelled, leaping to her feet. "You knock me out in the middle of the night, and kidnap me!" She continued to scream at Yuan, who looked more annoyed than apologetic or fearful.

"I told you to head towards Triet, I never said anything past that." Yuan answered staring as the usually composed mayor of Iselia. He knew that antagonizing the woman would result in only the worse kind of hassle, but still. He rarely got to have any fun running the Renegades, so when the opportunity arose, he took it. "Besides, you're way too uptight. You said you wanted to see Lloyd. Stop focusing on the small and unimportant."

"I really wouldn't call kidnapping small and unimportant." Raine shot back, her voice a more steady calm. _'How aggravating can this guy be? But he is right…remember why you are here Raine.' _With her mental critique out of the way, her mind turned towards her true purpose for being here. "So then, where is he?"

Yuan paused for a moment, before pulling out a seat from the table beside him. Raine had, unintentionally, taken the time to look at the room. She was surprised at how familiar it looked to Yuan's old main room in Triet, though this time with the added feature of the extremely comfy bed. "I need to explain a few things to you first." Yuan spoke, breathing in deeply. "And you have to swear this stays between us. I mean everything."

"I won't swear on anything before I see Lloyd."

"Then I won't say anything, and I'll simply wait for Regal to return." Yuan countered, narrowing his eyes. Once more, the two engaged in a battle of wills. This one, however, was much shorter than their last one, with Yuan coming out as the victor in this instance. Her head hanging in defeat, Raine sighed.

"Fine. I swear, not a word of this is heard by anyone else." When Yuan smirked in response, she once more felt like punching her. "Now get on with it already."

"A few days ago, Lloyd and Sheena were resting in a forest just outside of Meltokio." Yuan started, throwing a hand in the air to silence Raine. "How I knew he was there is unimportant. After the two shared some encouraging words, I confronted Lloyd. Offered him a chance to…learn some things." Yuan continued, picking his words carefully. Raine nodded, not wanting to waste anymore time. The sooner she could see Lloyd, the sooner she could be done with Yuan. "So…I knocked him out."

Raine stopped nodding for a minute, slowly tilting her head. "You…what?" She inquired monotonously.

"Well, did you honestly think Lloyd would just leave Sheena?" Yuan scoffed, rubbing his forehead. "Besides, that's unimportant."

"Knocking out the savior of the worlds is not unimportant Yuan. It's moronic." Raine critiqued, smirking herself when she witnessed his reaction. For a moment, the two remained in a tense silence, both staring at each other, before Raine finally nodded. "Go on."

Yuan gave her a narrowed glare, only serving to widen the smirk on Raine's face, before continuing. "As of now, Lloyd is drugged." His turn to smirk, as he watched the confidence fade from Raine's face, and replace itself with a weird mix of shock and anger. "Lloyd is currently under the influence of a very potent hallucinogen, doubled in strength by the fact that he is currently in a hibernation chamber." Yuan watched as the shock soon faded into the anger, watching Raine very slowly begin to forsake the cool head she wore in most encounters, inching very quickly towards mindless violence. "So, as of right now, he is currently experiencing an… altered reality of sorts. One that will help teach him these things."

"Wait just one second." Raine began, her voice shaky at best. "You drugged Lloyd…then locked him in a hibernation chamber? All to help him?" She checked, the end of her question filled with critical doubt and anger.

"Heh." Yuan replied, watching Raine get even angrier. "Since when did I do anything to help anyone selflessly? While Lloyd's in dream land, I've been running experiments and tests on his exsphere. And while what I have found has been startling, it has been next to nothing in so far as usefulness goes. That is why you are here Raine. I figure something from the final battle with Mithos triggered a change in his exsphere. I need to know what it is." Yuan finished, watching as Raine slowly stood up from the bed.

"So…you kidnap Lloyd, cause my friends grief, drug one of my favorite students, and you have the tenacity to simply come to one of us and ask for help like it's no big deal?" Raine uttered, her voice once more bearing a fatal calmness to it.

"Yes."

For a moment, there was absolutely no noise whatsoever. The two seemed to be encased in the world's single most uncomfortable silence. Neither one made a move or even took a deep breath for minutes, until finally, Raine slid her hand to the bottom of her staff, and stared maliciously at Yuan. And for the first time in much too long, Yuan felt his blood run cold. "Violence isn't going to achieve anything Raine."

"No, but I'll feel a whole lot better about this after I'm done…" Raine replied just seconds before a large screen on the nearest wall activated, capturing both the violent Raine's and scared Yuan's attention. Much to the satisfaction of the blue haired half-elf, Kratos showed up on the screen, eyeing the two of them. "Kratos?" Raine exclaimed. The scene probably looked pretty bad, what with Raine holding up a long wooden pole in the air, prepared to bring it down onto Yuan.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Kratos spoke, looking at the two. Before an answer could be uttered, Kratos looked at Raine. "So then, I suppose he's told you about my son's current state?" Raine nodded, slowly lowering her staff to her side. "Then I need you to understand that this is more than a petty sense of curiosity. I am legitimately worried about my son's exsphere. I was even the one that suggested Yuan to see you about it. I know it looks bad Raine."

"Yes…but I suppose if it's enough to worry you Kratos, than it should hold my concern as well." Raine replied, turning to Yuan. "Take me to see him. Then I'll start explaining."

------ Flanoir (Lloyd) ------

"Kuchinawa…you're working for them now?" Sheena muttered, narrowing her eyes at the former Mizuho ninja.

"Of course not." Kuchinawa replied. It was kind of hard to truly take him seriously, seeing as he was still disguised as a fairly regular looking innkeeper. However, the knives that threatened to spill blood seemed to get the point across. "If anything, I am here to help." That statement was enough to stun Sheena for a moment. Neither moved, seeing as how Kuchinawa as in a position where he could kill the both of them with a single action.

"What do you mean, help?" Lloyd muttered, his hand slowly resting itself on the handle of his sword. Just as he was about to make a move, the knife removed itself from his neck, and sliced through the fabric of the cloak he was wearing, right down the spine of it. The knife never touched skin, which had only served to further surprise the swordsman.

"Your back looks like hell. Looks like you've paid another big price for being near Sheena." Kuchinawa mocked, lowering the knife pointed at Sheena's neck, before leaping back over the desk. "Iselia must have been an eye opener, wasn't it Lloyd?" Lloyd spun around to face Kuchinawa, trying to find something to say to the former ninja, but falling short. Kuchinawa shook his head as he watched the swordsman try and defend himself and Sheena verbally. "Don't bother trying to say anything. Like I said before, I am here to help."

"Why?" Sheena finally muttered, catching a glare from Kuchinawa.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this for you Sheena. Lloyd has earned something of mine that means more to me than even honor. Respect. He's been stabbed and now scorched for you. A person willing to risk death is a very rare person indeed, and someone willing to risk it twice is down right one of a kind. He's done more for you than any self-respecting person would, or should, and for that he's earned it. And aside from that, I vowed to make sure to watch him, and that kept his word. That's kind of hard if he's forced to keep running from your former friends." Kuchinawa explained, watching as Sheena's head hung from her shoulders. "Turning old friends against him, you've taken the cake this time Shee…" Kuchinawa began, seconds before a sword embedded itself a foot into the wooden pillar right beside his head. His sight lowly turned to Lloyd, who was glaring viciously at him.

"Don't talk to her like that…ever." Lloyd growled, reaching for his Material Blades. It was a new habit Lloyd had developed, keeping a smaller blade located just behind his left shoulder, incase he was ever momentarily disarmed. It had saved his skin a few times since starting the journey to destroy the exspheres. Luckily, it had been one of the rare things on his back to remain undamaged from the fire. Sheena looked at Lloyd, a warm smile on her face as she watched him stand up for her. "It's not her fault."

Kuchinawa smiled, nodding once. "I'll leave it at that then." With a sigh, Kuchinawa walked to a wall, pressed a secret panel along a wooden plank to open up a secret room. "Rest in there. Come tomorrow, we take the secret route to the abandoned Renegades base. You'll be safe there until they stop looking for you. Then I'll get you both to Mizuho, where you'll be safe for sure. Only a fool openly attacks a village of ninjas." Kuchinawa explained, watching as the two nodded. They walked by the desk, Lloyd stopping briefly to pull out the sword, before entering the room. "I'll keep watch out here for the night…You've been followed by the former chosens."

"How do you know all this?"

Kuchinawa grinned, slowly turning to Lloyd. "When I said I would be watching you, I wasn't kidding in the slightest." Kuchinawa spoke, strong and steadily. He turned his head away from Lloyd, staring at the door intently. "I am constantly waiting for you to slip up, so I can claim your life. No one should be allowed to betray words like those and live." With that, Kuchinawa went back to the book he had been reading, as the door closed off, separating them from the actual inn. Sighing deeply, the two walked down the long hallway, noticing how it sloped downwards steadily. At last, after a couple of minutes of walking, the two arrived at a door. Opening it, they stepped into a fairly bland room, looking quite like the regular rooms in the inn, aside from the lack of windows. There was only a single bed, but a couch as well. A single light rested above them, lighting the room up surprisingly well considering it's size. There was a bookshelf there, lined with several odd books about random things. Aside from that there was a small bathroom. Just managing to close the door, Lloyd allowed himself to collapse onto the couch face first.

"I call upon the maiden of the mist. Undine!" Sheena summoned, catching Lloyd off guard. Lloyd turned to look at Sheena, and saw Undine floating beside her. Lloyd almost said something to contest with Sheena's action, but she silenced him with a raised hand. "No Lloyd."

"What is it, pact maker?" Undine spoke.

"Can you do something about Lloyd's back?"

"I will try." With that, she beckoned Lloyd to her, who responded obediently. Truth be told, the pain was killing him, and anything that could help he would try. "Please, remove your upper garment." Undine spoke, Lloyd was hesitating to follow, until his eyes laid themselves upon on Sheena's. She looked so worried for him that it almost hurt. He turned back to Undine and nodded, removing his upper layer of clothing, and exposing his back to the summon spirit. She extended her hands, hovering them just over Lloyd's mutilated back, and began to douse it with a steady stream of water. Surprisingly enough, where Lloyd had been sure that anything touching his back would have been excruciating, this water was soothing. A few minutes later, Undine stopped the flow of water, backing up a ways and turning to Sheena. "The task is complete." With that, she disappeared from the room, leaving a pair of exhausted travelers. Lloyd smiled, stretching his body and feeling absolutely no pain from the burns. To his surprise, he looked in a mirror and saw that the burn marks had almost completely faded.

"Lloyd…this is my fault." Sheena muttered, sitting on the bed. Lloyd shot around, catching her eyes with his own, comforting them within his own. "You could have died _again_. Maybe Kuchinawa is right…I really don't deserve a friend like you."

"Kuchinawa's an idiot." Lloyd growled as he began to put on his burnt top. Even if it was burnt, it was better than nothing. Turning back to Sheena, he smiled. "You're a great friend Sheena." Sheena broke the eye contact, staring down at the ground instead, afraid to look back at the man that put himself through hell for her now on two accounts. "Sheena…"

"No, he's right Lloyd. You've nearly died twice for me. All I've manage to do from the moment you met me was cause you trouble." Sheena lamented. "What kind of friend am I? Getting the closest friend I've ever had hurt time and time again…" She felt a gloveless hand rest under her chin, gently lifting it up to come eye level with Lloyd. He was kneeling in front of the bed, his head just far enough away so that her eyes could take in his entire face. Their eyes met once more, and Lloyd gave her the warmest smile he had.

"Sheena…" Lloyd began, removing his hand from her chin, and resting it along the side of her face. "I would risk death for you a thousand times if I have to. Kuchinawa is just bitter because he can't let go of the past. If he knew the Sheena I knew, with her warm and caring smile, her gentle and independent eyes, her strong will and her ability to overcome, he'd have been stunned." Lloyd soothed, unaware of the blushes that the two now had on. Sheena's face had softened considerably, her bottom lip trembling as Lloyd's words filled her ears.

"Lloyd…" Sheena whimpered, her eyes watering slightly.

Lloyd breathed deeply, overlooking that last step. He had come this far, no point in turning away now. "Sheena…I found my reason to live when I searched through your eyes before we went to face Volt. I don't care what happened before that day. What happened or what you did doesn't worry me." Lloyd spoke, his voice surprisingly strong. He hadn't expected himself to be able to get this far before. He wondered if the fact that he just about braved the fires of hell to save her had anything to do with it. It took a second run in with death to give him the confidence to say the most important thing he ever would. _'No…it wasn't that…it was the fact that I almost lost the chance to tell her how I felt.'_ Whatever it was, he would ride it until the end. He almost lost track of himself when he felt Sheena throw her arms around him, embracing him warmly. His own arms found their way around her, holding her tightly, as if he was afraid that this was all one big dream.

Slowly, Lloyd broke the embrace, pulling away enough to bring Sheena's face into full view. Swallowing one last time, Lloyd put any fears behind him, and gently rested a gloveless hand on each side of her face. "Sheena…I lo-" Lloyd nearly leapt out of his skin as the door slammed open, catching the attention of both Lloyd and Sheena, destroying the moment. They both caught sight of a very worried looking Kuchinawa, still in his innkeeper disguise. His eyes said it all, and that was enough to wrench back the fear into Lloyd's life. The once quiet and sensitive moment turned into one of the most panicked moments of his life, as he saw Kuchinawa panting.

"We need to go…NOW." Kuchinawa muttered hastily, his voice littered with a sense of fear. Closing the door tightly, he pressed another button that locked it instantly, sealing themselves inside the room. Lloyd, still convinced he needed to do this, turned back to Sheena and stared back into her eyes. When he looked into her eyes, he saw a shallow and lost gaze in them, something that alarmed Lloyd greatly. He quickly noticed that Sheena's face had gone deathly pale, and as her hand brushed his face, he could feel the warmth fleeing from it.

"…L-Lloy…" Sheena whimpered, before collapsing into his arms, and going into convulsions.

* * *

A/N: Oh yah…this is going to make me public enemy number one with EVERYONE. Lloyd and Sheena sharing a very touching moment, almost coming to the verge of the most sacred of confessions, when Kuchinawa comes up, brining the evil pear shaping events with him. Do I think I'll get some scathing reviews from those that were expecting the declaration of love? Of course. Hell, I'm prepared for it. Enjoy 


	7. Chapter 7: That Blue Eyed Devil

**Insaneiac: Ugh…I am so freaking sorry for taking so long to update. I have been fighting the cold from hell over the last 2-3 weeks, and it really started killing me about a week ago, when I started writing this. The good news? I am feeling much better. Alright, the aftermath of the world's most evil cliffhanger is at hand. I do believe that the big question here is just how evil of a cliffhanger can I leave you all with after my last one? This is another long one, I'm sorry. You know what…just because of how much is actually happening, the next few chapters are going to be hefty. I am sorry if that is a problem. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Chapter 7: That Blue Eyed Devil

* * *

"SHEENA?" Lloyd yelled as the girl threw about in his arms. "SHEENA! What is happening to you?" Lloyd continued, trying his best to hold onto Sheena as she tossed about violently. Lloyd was at a lost as to what to do, as to what he could do. His mind was a rush and a blur of confusion and lost. He turned to Kuchinawa, who was in the process of ripping the innkeeper mask off of himself and throwing on his red face mask, hiding his true face from the world once more. Lloyd turned back to Sheena and whimpered as she tossed in his arms. Every vicious tremble of her body wracked across his own, filling him with the ever so vicious horror of having no clue what was wrong with her. His fear soon found way to the horrid sense of hopelessness, as tears began dotting her clothes. 

"Chikusho" Kuchinawa muttered hastily. Turning to the door, he placed an ear against it, listening quietly for any approaching footsteps or voices. "We ne-" he started, before he was hastily interrupted.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?" Lloyd yelled at Kuchinawa, holding Sheena even tighter to try and stow her convulsions. He had no clue what he was doing at all, but for some reason he was afraid to let go. The color had completely drained from her face, and her skin felt like ice now, hurtling Lloyd further into his worries. When Kuchinawa said nothing, Lloyd reluctantly released her from his grip and laid her down on the bed before he turned to face the ninja. "KUCHINAWA!"

"I…don't care." He growled, looking at Lloyd.

"You said you would help us."

"You, not her. If she dies… good riddance." He stated matter-of-factly. A split second after that Kuchinawa was pinned to the wall of the room by Lloyd, his forearm driven into the rogue ninja's neck. Before he could even attempt to breathe, Lloyd drove the Flamberge into wall just beside his head, close enough for the extreme heart from the inferno that raged inside of the blade to rip across his face. For the first time in far too long, Kuchinawa eyes were the very picture of fear. He had never seen Lloyd get so distant from his displayed personality. He grunted in pain as the arm was pressed harder against his throat.

"If you know something…tell me." Lloyd growled, pulling the sword from out of the wall and holding it just in front of Kuchinawa's face, aiming it for right in-between his eyes. "Or I swear I will." The two stood in silence, the searing heat from the sword whipping along both Lloyd's and Kuchinawa's face. Kuchinawa had followed Lloyd as best as he could, watching him as he went from place to place. He couldn't follow him into Welgaia, but everywhere else Lloyd went, Kuchinawa had been watching. In all that time he spent watching Lloyd, he had never seen any indication that he was capable of this. He never knew Lloyd could do this at all, that he could ever bring himself to do something so unlike him.

"I don't know." Kuchinawa lied, regretting it when Lloyd pressed his forearm against his neck even harder, choking the air out of Kuchinawa. Reluctantly, Lloyd lessened the pressure, but kept the sword aimed just at his head. A low growl escaped Kuchinawa's lips, but was silenced by Lloyd's own short and aggressive growl.

"Don't you lie to me!" Lloyd yelled. For a moment, their eyes met and each of them saw something. Kuchinawa saw a volatile mixture or anger and fear within Lloyd's eyes, while Lloyd saw an immaculate and complete fear within the ninja's eyes. "If Sheena dies…" He pressed his forearm against his neck again, a low and feral growl escaping his lips. "I'll send you to hell in pieces."

"Heh…" Kuchinawa began with a smirk, despite his predicament. "You've grown tougher. You're more willing to do anything to help those you love now. Is the gentle idealist beginning to fade away?" When Lloyd narrowed his eyes, Kuchinawa let his smirk fade away and his mind shift back to the matter on track. "I might know what it is. I'm no doctor incase you haven't noticed." Kuchinawa stopped there, waiting for Lloyd to remove his arm from his neck. When he finally did, Kuchinawa slumped to the floor, catching his breath. "What happened to the gentle Lloyd?" Kuchinawa shot, watching the Lloyd back up slowly while his sword still aimed at Kuchinawa, this time for his neck. Pushing to his feet, Kuchinawa reluctantly walked over to Sheena. In the brief few seconds that the men had been focused else where, her convulsions had weakened considerably, now nothing more than sporadic twitches. Instead, the new alarming development was her frantic mumblings and squeals. Every moan of pain seemed to dig deeper into Lloyd, wounding him more and more with every sound. Kuchinawa callously forced her eyelids open, getting a good look at them.

"Well?"

"She's as good as dead." Kuchinawa returned, glancing at Lloyd over his shoulder. "She has a very rare ailment that we simply named Blood Blossom. Here, see her eyes." Kuchinawa continued, not a shred of sympathy to be found in either his words or his voice. Walking over, Lloyd glanced into Sheena's eyes and almost whimpered. They were completely red. "It's a flawless killer. Unless she gets the cure, which is extremely rare, death is certain." Turning to Lloyd, he continued. "She's going to die, and there is not a thing you can do about it."

Lloyd stared at Sheena somberly, running a hand along her cheek. _'Her skin is so cold…Sheena…' _"What's the cure?" When Kuchinawa said nothing, Lloyd slowly looked at him, not an emotion on his face, but fury and depression raging within his eyes. "_WHAT_ is the cure Kuchinawa?" Lloyd demanded, his sword once more rising into the air.

"It's a flower that has a twisted stem, so it looks as though it could be worn as a ring. The flower itself is a shade of lavender. Your only chance to find it lies at Gnomes temple, where you would meet to form a pact with the spirit." Kuchinawa droned on, watching as Lloyd turned to bolt through the door. "Bookshelf, second row down, 8th book from the left. Pull that and it opens a secret entrance. That'll take you a mile outside of Flanoir."

"Why do you have all this secret entrances and passages and stuff?" Lloyd spoke, confused.

"Is finding out that more important than saving her worthless life?"

"How do I know I can trust you alone with her?"

"You don't. The only thing you do know is that if you don't go, she will die." Kuchinawa shot back once more, watching Lloyd's expression shift. "If it helps you along, there is no honor in killing a dying opponent." With a slight nod, Lloyd spun to the bookshelf, pulling the book he was instructed to. A door opened up along the side of the wall, and Lloyd was off, charging away at full speed. As he watched Lloyd speed off to try and save Sheena, Kuchinawa looked at her and scowled. His ears twitched as he heard the sound of the secret door shutting, locking the two alone in the room. "Maybe you're not entirely useless to him…I doubt he'd ever be able to do something like that before. Maybe he will save you."

"Don't be so sure." A voice muttered from behind Kuchinawa. The man spun around fiercely, just in time to see a pair of sapphire globes. Before anything else could be said, a blade shot into his stomach, shooting him into the wall. A sickening croak of pain roared out of Kuchinawa's masked lips. "After all, this has all…just…begun." The voice, enigmatic and almost child-like, replied once more, as a flower came into Kuchinawa's view.

------ Renegades Base ------

For the longest time, Raine just stood there and gazed at him. The very first thing that popped into her head as she watched Lloyd was Colette, when she was being forced to be Martel's vessel. Yuan stood behind her, though not paying attention to her that much. His attention was on Markus and Crispin and the report that he demanded them to give.

"Yes my Lord! Part way through your leave, there was a massive surge in power. We checked it out like you said and…" Markus started, pausing on the next few details.

"Lloyd's exsphere energy level quadrupled in strength for eleven minutes, and his emotions rated in at an extreme at both ends, a very positive one approximately six minutes into the ordeal, and a very negative one that sparked and stayed for five minutes following that." Crispin ended, picking up where his partner had faltered. Yuan gave them each a nod before continuing himself.

"I trust these events were recording it the log?" A pair of nods confirmed his statement. "Show me." As the two went to show Yuan the events as recorded on the data logs, Raine had broken the gap between her and the sealed away Lloyd, resting a hand on the glass directly above his face. Yuan turned away from the computer momentarily to see Raine lamenting, staring for a brief second before his view returned to the two Renegades.

"Good, back to your regular duties. Dismissed." Yuan spoke with authority, waving the two off as they saluted. He watched for the two of them to leave before turning to Raine, who was still staring into the chamber at Lloyd. "He's not dying, if that is what you're worried about."

"You always know exactly what to say." Raine replied dryly, forcing her worries back down within herself. "This isn't fair."

Yuan blinked twice in slight confusion before finally biting onto the hook. "And what would that be?"

"Lloyd…he deserves to be free. He's done so much for the world and its people, and we return the favor by studying him and putting even more work on him…like an animal." Raine muttered, waving her hand towards the chamber. It depressed her to see him like that.

A gentle smirk slipped onto Yuan's face as Raine said her peace. "So?" Yuan muttered, shrugging his shoulders. He walked away to check one of the consoles for any additional information, sighing when nothing came up as irregular. "Didn't you hear? The hero never gets rest, only critics who tear you apart, and people that want more." Yuan finished, as he pressed a few more buttons. "Now what happened?"

Raine gave a long sigh as she departed from the chamber, resting against a wall across from Lloyd. "Okay. We defeated the dark dragon guarding the door into Vinheim, where Mithos' body awaited us. When we got to him, his body and his Cruxis Crystal combined to bring his consciousness back to. We ended up fighting Mithos in a grand battle that I still have nightmares of. Eventually, Lloyd and Sheena drove the final blow to Mithos, killing his body. After that, he ordered Lloyd to destroy the crystal and-"

"Wait…Mithos asked for his crystal's destruction?" Yuan interrupted, visibly confused and visibly annoying Raine.

"Yes, he did. He refused to play the "game" of good vs. evil with Lloyd and he just wanted to rest. Anyways, Lloyd destroyed the crystal. Then we left and revived the tree." Raine finished, annoying Yuan.

"Did anything happen to his exsphere?" Yuan replied, rubbing his forehead. "There has to be more to this. Something that triggered the evolution of his exsphere."

Raine paused for a moment, pressing her memory before snapping back to reality. "Yes! When Lloyd destroyed Mithos' crystal…fragments of it seemed to be absorbed into his own, as if-" Raine stopped when she saw Yuan staring wide eyed. She almost began to worry she had said something wrong until he slammed his hand on the console he was sitting it. The sound enough was strong enough to send Raine into a flinch, but she quickly recovered and watched Yuan intently.

"DAMMIT!" He growled, speeding towards a computer. "This changes everything…"

"What…do you…"

"Raine, his exsphere absorbed the destroyed fragments of Mithos' Cruxis crystal. Lloyd exsphere was already one of the most powerful in existence, and now shards of the single most powerful exsphere to be created may have fused themselves to it. The ramifications of that could be…" Yuan stopped himself, sighing miserably before glancing across the room. "That console, go there and run programs one to three and seven." Yuan ordered, Raine staring agitatedly. After finishing his task he set out, he looked back up to see Raine standing in the exact same spot, sighing miserably. "Or stay there and do absolutely nothing, either way."

"What is this all about Yuan?"

Yuan paused for a moment, watching the screens as the chamber whirred to life. Hurrying along, Yuan began to start the programs he had asked Raine to, a little steamed at her for disobeying him. "Lloyd's exsphere is vastly more powerful than I gave credit. Now then, I will not lower myself to asking for help, but since you are here and I bet you want to watch over him, start earning your stay." Yuan muttered while pointing at the console he had been at prior.

"Don't you have people qualified for this kind of stuff already?"

"Surprisingly, not many of them know quite how to use angelic technology like you do. And now you are wasting time." Yuan said dismissively, turning towards a large flat screen and turning it on. When an angel showed up instead of Kratos, Yuan skipped the pleasantries. "You. Get Kratos, now!" Yuan ordered, the angel glared as he nodded begrudgingly before leaving. _'Dammit Kratos…this was always so much easier when they had no emotions.' _He waited for a brief period of time before Kratos came into view again.

"Yuan…stop ordering my angels around." Kratos muttered before finally seeing Yuan's business face on. "What now?" He continued, a little worn out.

"Your son's exsphere _absorbed_ fragments of Mithos' Cruxis crystal." Yuan seethed, watching Kratos' face turn sour, then to a speculative horror. For a while, both Kratos and Yuan had been looking through various concerns that might one day wind up. This specific case held a very high ranking.

"Then that could mean…"

"Indeed Kratos. And if that is the case…" Yuan started, turning to face the chamber. "We are all in trouble. Symphonia will be in grave danger once more." Raine slowly looked up from the console, locking eyes with Yuan. Their eyes lingered in each other for a mere handful of moments before Yuan broke the gaze, turning back to Kratos. "I can't interrupt the process, not without the risk of killing him."

"Worse case scenario, you may very well have to. Even if it means…" Kratos began, unable to finish the statement. "Yuan, this one rests on you." Kratos spoke agitatedly, before disconnecting the channel. Yuan let a long sigh escape before turning to Raine.

"Anything?"

"…No. They've turned up inconclusive." Raine replied a little confused. Yuan rubbed his forehead in thought, before turning towards a console that hung over the chamber.

"Try the first three tests, list the variants as followed: Angelus project, crystal absorption, and extreme emotions." Yuan commanded, Raine giving the back of his head a death glare before doing so. In the back of her head she just kept telling herself, over and over again. She was doing this for Lloyd.

------ Temple of Earth ------

As soon as his feet touched ground, as soon as his being was once more on the surface of the planet, Lloyd charged to the pedestal that Gnome would rest at. Monster tried to attack him, but he either charged right by them or cleaved through them in his rush. Nothing short of Armageddon would stop Lloyd's charge, and those too blind to realize that were taken out of the picture for good. Sometimes the moonlight guided him, other times he ran by the glow of his blades. Finally, Lloyd reached the summon spirits resting place, nearly collapsing at the foot of it. From the blasting out of Flanoir to reaching the summon "chamber" Lloyd had pushed himself to his limits. After a few brief moments of rest, the image of Sheena lying on that bed, cold as ice and moaning in pain drove him back to his feet. Lloyd glanced up at the bare crack in the roof of the Canyon, just large enough to allow moonlight to fill the summoning room. All around him the canyon was cast in either pale moonlight or complete shadow, giving a very mystical feel to the already mystical place.

"Flower…flower…Where is that flower?" Lloyd muttered to himself scanning the area. His face brightened as his eyes befell the flower just a handful of feet in front of him. A few more feet and he saw another, and that was it. Two flowers. "Well, Kuchinawa had said they were extremely rare." Lloyd muttered quickly, before chasing over to it. Just as he picked it up, a fireball erupted into where it had been, nearly incinerating the flower. Just as quick as the fire ball came, the other flower exploded into flames as well. Jumping backwards, Lloyd shot a glance towards where the balls had come from, and saw a person standing at the entrance to the area.

"Lloyd…give me the flower." The voice stated. Lloyd eyes shot open as he heard the voice, and then he nearly cried when he saw the attackers face. It was Genis. Lloyd tried to say something in return, but could not find the strength too.

"We are doing this for you Lloyd. Why can't you see that?"

"Genis…" Lloyd began, pulling out a bottle from his pack. As quickly as he could, he slipped the flower into the bottle before placing it back in his pack, hopefully keeping Sheena's lifeline safe. "Not you too."

"Lloyd, you always do these dumb things. You should be glad you got friends like me and Raine to help you out when you make such stupid mistakes." Genis lectured, lowering his kendama as he watched Lloyd. "I'm just doing what I have to Lloyd. For you."

He wasn't about to fight Genis, he needed to try and reason with him. "Genis…you care about Presea? Don't you?"

"Well….kind of." Genis replied sheepishly. "But what does-"

"If I threatened to kill her, what would you do?" Lloyd inquired seriously. He needed to try and get his point across to the only one he could. "If I threatened to kill her because she wasn't right for you, what would you do?"

"That's completely different Lloyd. Presea isn't like Sheena, and I'm not like you. Can't you see that Lloyd." When Lloyd drew his swords out, Genis sighed miserably. "Lloyd…are you really willing to fight me for her life…a miserable little failure like her?"

"Genis-" Lloyd began, spinning the blades around in his hands, and holding them in a battle stance. Lloyd had known for sometime now that two others had been moving in the rock face around him. Probably incase Lloyd decided to fight instead of surrender. "I'd do anything for Sheena. Even if it means…" Lloyd struggled with the words for a moment, a tear rolling down his cheek. "…killing you."

"And that Lloyd…" Genis muttered, lifting the kendama back up and pointing it at Lloyd. "…is why she must die." With that said, another three fireballs shot out at Lloyd, who jumped to his left and dodged them nearly effortlessly.

Lloyd sprinted towards Genis, swords pointing dangerously at the smaller half-elf. Just as he was within stabbing distance, he spun around and crossed his swords in front of him, blocking the massive axe chop from above. Lloyd's eyes briefly locked with Presea's before he swung both blades outward, tossing her backwards. The petit girl landed gracefully on her feet before charging again, waiting until she was within range before spinning herself, swinging horizontally with her axe. Lloyd dodged the surprisingly fast attack before following hers with his own. She used the axe in much the same way someone would use a shield, but Lloyd had manage to knock it upwards. Just as Lloyd was poised to strike down Presea, a pair of sharp kicks connected with Lloyd's ribs.

The third attacker sent Lloyd sprawling across the floor, landing roughly on his side. Pushing to his feet as quickly as he could, Lloyd nearly had his head taken off by Regal, who lashed out with a pair of vicious side kicks. Lloyd ducked the first one and rolled underneath the second. As he got back to his feet, Lloyd blocked another kick with his blades, pushing the foot off to the side. Regal began to lose his balance just in time for Lloyd to go on the offensive. The swordsman lashed out with a pair of stabs, slicing into Regal's arm. Just as Lloyd was about to go for another stab, he felt the blunt end of Presea's ax slam into his side, throwing him across the room and into the rock face opposite of the entrance into the summon chamber. His body slid from it's resting place to the floor, landing on his hands and knees in pain. For a moment, he almost stayed there before pushing to his feet. He could barely stand at first, shaking and stumbling, but eventually he stood at full height. Lloyd looked up and saw Genis, Regal and Presea standing near the exit, each in their poses for battle.

"Lloyd, stop being blind. You know what is right." Regal spoke first, watching Lloyd intently. Lloyd himself was exhausted and, as of now, his ribs where hurting like he couldn't believe. Still, the most pain came from the fact that the last three friends he had were all trying to achieve the same goal Raine was. Lloyd's eyes shot up at the cliff that rested above them. His eyes trailed along, noticing that it led to the path out. He didn't need to charge all the way out of the canyon, but get to the point where the opening above them was wide enough for him to fly out of.

'_From there, I could flee. I can't let myself get distracted.' _Standing up as straight as he could, Lloyd's wings came back into existence as he stared down the three of them. Through the moonlight, Lloyd found Genis' eyes, and locked his eyes with them. "I won't let Sheena die."

"She is not right for you Lloyd." Presea monotonously replied, her analytical eyes gazing into Lloyd's. "She endangers you needlessly and you gain no benefits from being around her."

"Please Lloyd. Come back with us! We're your real friends. We want you to be happy." Genis reasoned once more. When he saw Lloyd's wings flap powerfully, his face turned from reasonable to ready. "So that's it, you're just going to run again?"

"Yup." Lloyd responded, before taking off. Regal immediately broke from his position, charging at Lloyd. At the last moment, he leapt into the air and loosed a triple set of roundhouses at him, only to have them blocked by Lloyd's material blades. While Regal was still airborne, Lloyd spun himself around, smashing the hilt of the sword against the side of Regal's head and dropping him to the ground. With Regal out of the way, Lloyd flew to the cliff above them all, and back to the path that led out of the canyon. He couldn't just fly out because of how narrow it got up higher and he'd be a sitting duck for Genis and his magic. As soon as he landed he retracted his wings and ran off towards the entrance into the canyon, to where there would no doubt be an opening large enough for Lloyd and his massive wings to escape by. Looking ahead, he could see Genis glowing, meaning he had gotten himself in position already and conjuring up a spell.

'…_Genis…I have to…' _Grunting, Lloyd sheathed the Material Blades, and drew the smaller one he carried just in case. Just as Genis was finishing the spell, Lloyd hurtled the blade at the half-elf, catching him right in the shoulder. Genis screamed in pain as he dropped to a knee, his kendama falling beside him as his mind raged alive in agony. Lloyd felt a piece of him explode when he watched his best-friend collapse to the ground, the short sword protruding from his shoulder. It killed him even more when he realized that he couldn't stop to help him. Giving his head a shake to whip away the tear, Lloyd charged past Genis, averting his eyes from the blood, lit up by the moon. To make matters worse, he could hear Genis' cries of pain perfectly even as he ran, compliments of the curse that was being angelic. He needed to get to a place where he could fly away.

"No!" Presea shouted as she saw Genis hit the ground, his wails forcing themselves into her head. She knelt down beside the crying half-elf, picking him up gently before turning towards Regal. "He needs help."

"Go. I'll take care of Lloyd." Regal replied calmly, before charging off after Lloyd. On foot, Regal was nearly twice as fast as Lloyd when it came to running, and both knew it. As Presea took the whimpering Genis in her arms and began to charge out of the canyon, Regal had already caught up to Lloyd. With one final leap, Regal landed in front of Lloyd, catching the swordsman in the gut with a vicious sidekick. Lloyd gagged as he felt the impact against his stomach, his body stopping dead in its tracks. As Lloyd hung there from the kick, Regal twisted himself around and drove a roundhouse into the side of Lloyd's head, sending him careening into the rock wall. The impact was fierce on both accounts, leaving Lloyd in excruciating pain and his body crumpled to the ground.

"Lloyd, you need to stop this." Regal reasoned, watching as Lloyd struggled to his feet. The swordsman was bleeding from a freshly gained gash in the side of his head, no doubt attained from colliding with the rock wall. "Although you may not be the smartest, you are smarter than this."

"Regal…If I wouldn't stop when Colette tried to trick me, if I wouldn't give up from Raine's lecture, and if I wouldn't quit after my best friend tried to sabotage my chance to save Sheena…what makes you think getting beaten around is going to make me change my mind?" Lloyd replied, pulling his swords out again. Before anything more could be said, he charged Regal, stabbing at him with his swords.

"Lloyd." Regal began, spinning to the side to avoid being stabbed. Coming off the spin, he delivered another vicious sidekick to the back of Lloyd's head, tossing him down the path and sending him tumbling into another rock face. "We all have only your best interests in mind." When Lloyd didn't move from his position, Regal began to walk towards him, looking to take the flower from him and destroy it. He could see Lloyd still breathing, meaning the boy was still alive.

"…help me…" Lloyd muttered weakly, alarming Regal.

"Lloyd that is what I am trying to do." Regal started, staring down at Lloyd. "I'm here to-" He stopped when he saw Lloyd glowing, his eyes shooting open as the fear began to clutch at his soul.

"Be gone from my sight!" Lloyd yelled, rolling to his side and pointing his hand at Regal. The instant their eyes met, Regal could feel dread filling him like water fills a hole. "JUDGMENT!" As if on cue, the glow around Lloyd dispersed, and beams of light rained down from above them, engulfing Regal with holy wrath. Lloyd could hear him screaming in pain as the light swallowed him whole. He heard his cries of agony as the energy of heaven ripped through him like liquid fire. Finally, after what was a brutal period of suffering that seemed to transcend the laws of time itself, the light dissipated and left a smoking Regal in its place. He let out one final groan before collapsing to his side. Lloyd could only stare at the prone Regal, his eyes watering as the realization of what he had done began to set it. Forcing himself to his feet, he rushed to Regal in a panic, looking for a heart beat. He pressed his ear to Regal's chest, and sighed in relief. There was still a beat.

Regal would live.

'**_IDIOT! Sheena needs you!'_** Lloyd heard in his head, in a voice not his own. He didn't have the time to place it, only that it was familiar. "Regal…forgive me please." Lloyd muttered, before turning towards the path he was running down, and continued to charge out, spreading his wings and taking off when he reached a place he could.

'_The first time I ever used that…and it was to get away from my friends…are they even my friends now?' _

'**_Regret later!' _**Lloyd heard again, a voice not quite his own. It sounded female, yet it didn't belong to any woman he knew. Whoever or whatever it was didn't matter, only that it was on his side.

"Sheena…I'm coming! Just hold on a little longer!" Lloyd yelled into the air as he flew as fast as he could to Flanoir. His body was weak and he felt like he was dying just by using the amount of mana he was, but he wouldn't stop.

------ Flanoir's Inn ------

Lloyd burst through the front door in a blind haste, nearly knocking it off the hinges. He let his hand snake to his sword, just incase something showed up. He didn't care what or who it could be; he just wanted to be prepared. Too much was in jeopardy to blow it all by being unprepared. Shifting his hands around looking for the button, Lloyd finally found it and slammed his hand against it, the wall beside him shooting open. Lloyd could feel himself on the verge of collapsing, but the thought, the horror of losing Sheena was enough to keep him going. His forehead had stopped bleeding a while ago, but his body still ached from the blows Regal had laid upon him. Panting heavily, Lloyd burst into the exposed hall way, fast reaching the door that separated him from Sheena. The second he reached it his hand shot to the knob, twisting it once. He threw his shoulder into it and felt a hard thump in return. The door was still locked.

"No time." Lloyd panted, backing away from the door. His hands whipped to the hilts of his swords, and in two fluid actions quartered the door. With the door now lying in pieces, Lloyd sprinted through into the room, and stopped almost as quickly as he started. Taking a few steps towards the bed, Lloyd felt his mind shift from anxiety to horror and depression. Looking past the bed, he could see Kuchinawa. He was lying in a crumpled, lifeless heap in a corner of the room, gashes and stab wounds almost everywhere. The smell and the sight nearly made Lloyd hurl his guts out. But it was the sight on the bed that truly horrified him the worse. His eyes turned back to the bed, which he was right beside. A single sniffle escaped him before he collapsed to the ground, burying his face into the bed as he wailed and screamed.

Sheena was not in the bed. Sheena was not in the room at all.

Lloyd let his swords fall to the ground as he gripped the covers of the bed. "DAMMIT!" Lloyd yelled, slamming his hands against the mattress. "DAMMIT ALL!"

"It hurts, doesn't it Lloyd?" A voice called from Lloyd. Instantly, the swordsman hand found his Flamberge, and had spun around to point at the newcomer's neck. Turning his head to face the intruder, Lloyd's depression switched for fierceness.

"Who's the-"Lloyd started with an enraged voice.

Enraged, that is, until his eyes truly beheld who was standing in the room with him. The fierceness was gone from his eyes, replaced once more with horror, albeit a new breed of horror. His sword slipped out of his fingers, clanging against the ground. Lloyd's mouth began to quiver weakly as he tried to find words to fill the blank, as he attempted to say anything. Finally, his mouth had finally found the sound it had lost and Lloyd uttered a single name in a pitifully weak voice.

"…………Mithos."

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A/N: Oh yah…if I wasn't killed for the last cliffhanger, this one might do it. Sheena is missing, Kuchinawa is dead, and more importantly than anything else…Mithos hath come. Could this be the beginning of the end for Lloyd? Or is this just the beginning of everything to come? 


	8. Chapter 8: The Awakening, Part I

**Insaneiac: Well ladies and gentlemen; this is what you have been waiting for. Just the chapter names will cause a panic. Hope you are all prepared for what's to come. Enjoy the chapter. Oh, language gets just a tad bit higher rated for this. Nothing too major, but enough to draw some attention unless noted.**

Disclaimer: My magic 8 ball says "keep dreaming." Incase you missed that, I still don't own Tales of Symphonia

* * *

Chapter 8: The Awakening, Part I

* * *

Although it held no blade's hilt, Lloyd's hand was still held out in front of him as if he did. His swords littered the floor, far enough from his reach that the blue eyed devil would be upon him before he could get his swords back. His short sword was, afar as he knew, still imbedded in the shoulder of his former best friend Genis. Lloyd himself was a tired and miserable wreck, his body wracked with pains of the physical and emotional variations, and his entire being feeling almost completely drained of energy. And standing no more than a few feet away from him was the incarnation of hatred and the very heart of darkness himself.

"Lloyd, you look tired." Mithos mocked with false sympathy, watching Lloyd's eyes narrow viciously. The swordsman said absolutely nothing in return, opting instead to attempt and charge the fallen hero. Arm whipped back, Lloyd threw the hardest punch he could, only to have it plucked in mid flight by Mithos. Before Lloyd could do anything to counter the actions of Mithos, Mithos hurled Lloyd across the room powerfully, sending him slamming into a wall. The sound of the impact was enough to shatter glass, had there been any in the room. Lloyd's rag doll body slid to the ground, a remarkably full impression left at where his being had met wall. Lloyd could barely lift his head to find where Mithos had gone when he felt a hand grab his hair and pull back, forcing Lloyd to look into the sapphire orbs of evil incarnate.

"Go to hell…Mithos." Lloyd growled. Mithos smirked in response, releasing Lloyd's hair and letting his head fall back down. He breathed very slowly before attempting to force himself to his feet, using the wall behind him as a guide. "How…are you still-" Lloyd choked out, lifting his head to stare at the blonde little half-elf, sitting on the bed as if nothing had happened.

"Alive? I'm not too sure about it myself little brother."

"What did you call me?" Lloyd growled, eyeing his swords longingly. _'If I could just…get…one of them.'_

"Well, the more I think about, the more of a father Kratos felt like to me. And since he is your father, that would practically make us brothers." Mithos explained, a demonic little grin resting on his face as he watched Lloyd's expression go sour. "And besides, you and I are so alike, it just feels right. Wouldn't you agree little brother?"

"Don't… you EVER call me your brother! You and I are completely different." Lloyd yelled, swiping the air in front of him with his hand. His response was found in the relentlessly dark laughter that could only belong to Mithos. "What's so funny?"

"You are brother. I mean, who do you think you are telling me what to do?" Mithos laughed some more as he watched Lloyd's reaction. Then, when Lloyd made a dash for his swords, Mithos leapt off the bed and stopped Lloyd in mid-flight, Mithos' feet catching the back of Lloyd's head and driving it into the ground. The swords were still too far in front of him to reach, and just as he was about to start crawling towards the nearest blade, he felt Mithos' hand press into the back of his head, pinning it to the ground.

"GET OFF ME!" Lloyd screamed, swinging his arms wildly. He felt a hand wrapped vengefully around his left wrist, and soon he had a knee pinning his arm to his back and a hand pushing his head into the ground. Lloyd, the eternal swordsman of Symphonia, unifier of the worlds, pinned to the ground by a boy who looked no older than Genis. While Lloyd knew better than that, the image of what it must look like was killing him from the inside. Still with one hand free, he could try and reach the blade. He knew Mithos was keeping that hand free on purpose, just to demonstrate that any idea of salvation was out of reach for the swordsman.

"Poor little Lloyd. Life's not doing you any favors, is it?" Mithos taunted, chuckling as he heard Lloyd growl. Despite his overwhelming anger and his blinding want to rip Mithos' head from his shoulders, Lloyd couldn't do anything. He was completely and utterly at the end of his line, and now was pinned to the ground by someone who should, by all accounts, be dead. "Your best friends turn on you, hurting you. It feels like the world is caving around you. Worst of all…" Mithos began, before bringing his head right beside Lloyd's, his mouth hovering beside Lloyd's right ear. "…your little ninja is gone."

When Lloyd heard Mithos mention Sheena's disappearance, he began to try and toss the half-elf off again. And just like before, Lloyd failed miserably. "Get off of me!" Lloyd shouted, only getting angrier when he felt the hand pressing his head to the ground ruffle his hair, like a big brother would do to a younger sibling.

"People you thought you could trust are all turning against you now. And it hurts, doesn't it?" Mithos continued, pulling his head away from Lloyd.

Lloyd gave another attempt at tossing off Mithos and failing again before he finally stopped. "If you are here just to rub this in then go ahead. I don't care anymore." Lloyd muttered. As he watched the floor that his head was pressed against, he could see dots of water begin to show up.

"Little brother…you wound me." Mithos mocked, pulling back viciously on Lloyd's hair. A scream of pain exited itself from his lips as his head was wrenched up. Moments later, he felt the knee remove itself from his back and free his arm again. Mithos came into sight in front of him, his other hand grabbing Lloyd's chin. "That was how I fell Lloyd. No, you don't deserve the easy way out. You deserve to watch the world hunt you down. The great hero of Symphonia, hunted down by the people he saved. In all honesty, little brother…I want to watch you fail. I want to watch as your dreams to create a world without prejudice or needless sacrifices shatter like glass. I want to watch as you fail the people around you, damning them to death." Mithos taunted, watching Lloyd's face contort in a mix of agony and hatred. "More than any of that, I want to see you fall from grace. And when you do…when the entire world has reduced itself to the same state it was before, I'll be there to help you pick up the pieces of your little delusions, and start anew. And just like it happened with the Great Hero Mithos, you'll turn back on your path, and join me on my path."

When Lloyd tried to defend himself, he was horrified to find that nothing came out. Not a word or a murmur could escape his mouth. When a sound finally did find it's way to the silent room, Lloyd was mortified to hear a choked sob instead of a speech defending his path in life. Moments later the hand released Lloyd's hair, and let his head drop back to the floor. The agony of defeat is a pure agony, and it doesn't get much worse than admitting a defeat on both the physical and mental levels.

'**_If that is all it takes to detour you from your ideals, then Symphonia should have been doomed. You are not Mithos Yggdrasill, you are Lloyd Irving.'_** Lloyd glanced around to find the source of the foreign voice, but could not. Yet the words and, more importantly, the voice fed him. He could feel the defiance rekindle itself and boil anew.

"I'm not going to fail." Lloyd growled, pushing up onto his knees, glaring at the blonde half-elf defiantly. "Just because you did doesn't mean I will." Mithos watched Lloyd seemingly emotionlessly, a whisper of a smirk present on his childlike face.

"Believe me Lloyd. This pathetic world needs a villain to function right. These inferior beings cannot exist in harmony and peace." Mithos replied, seething disdain at the mention of harmony and peace. "Oh just you wait little brother, this entire world will turn on you. Every man and woman will curse your name and every child shall flee at the mention of it."

Lloyd took a testing step forward, making sure his body hadn't shattered like glass yet. When he found he could move with ease, he walked over to Mithos and glared down at him. "I'm not related to you. I will not become you. And I definitely will not believe you."

"I suppose you still think you'll succeed in this fruitless plot of yours. To unify the world and it's races. Bring humans, elves, and the beings stuck in between into a world of acceptance." Mithos remarked, waving his hands in the air. "Such a pretty little fantasy your life must be Lloyd."

"It's only a fantasy to the lazy and the weak that desert the path they set in life for a short cut." Lloyd replied, locking glares with Mithos. He winced as Mithos pushed past him and made his way to the door to the room.

"Then I would get myself to Iselia and fast little brother." Mithos stated, rolling his head along his shoulder and looking back at Lloyd. "That is where your little dove is being held. And if you listen to anything I've said, believe me on this. Losing someone like her, someone that special to you…it will kill you inside. She is to you what my sister was to me. Maybe not in all the same ways, but she was the single most special person to me in life. You don't survive that loss, not in one piece at least." Gripping the knob of the door, Mithos whipped it open, extending a hand to the hallway. "And like I said, you don't get to fall that easily."

Lloyd turned towards his swords, picking them from off the ground and sheathing them away. Slowly, he turned to face Mithos, making eye contact with the demonic little angel. No words were spared between the two. Lloyd wanted nothing more than to stab Mithos over and over again, make sure he was dead this time. True, he had been reluctant to kill him at Derris-Kharlan, hoping against hope that he would see the error of his ways. But as he had said himself, he would continue to choose his path through life. Even though it only brought suffering, betrayal and death, he would choose it freely. Now all he wanted to do was end Mithos, and this time for good.

"What are you waiting for? Do you want her to die?"

"Shut up." Lloyd growled, running to the door. Mithos backed away as the eternal swordsman reached the open door, smirking as Lloyd stopped just outside of the door. "I don't know how you are alive or why you are helping me save her." He turned his head to look back at Mithos, only angered further by his smirk "After I save her though, I'm going to finish this"

And with that, Lloyd charged out of the room, leaving a very pleased Mithos standing inside the empty room. His attention turned back to Kuchinawa as a smile crossed his face. Slowly, he brought out the flower Lloyd had went to gain, and looked at it, admiring what it represented to him. This was not a cure for some horrible disease…this was a key. A key that was now missing a few petals, but nonetheless it was a key. Glancing past the flower and at the corpse of Kuchinawa, Mithos admired his handy work. It didn't take much effort to stab a sword into someone, but it really did make all the difference. Mithos could have snapped his neck just as easily as he ran him through, but at least this way it looked like one of Lloyd's former comrades had done the thoughtless deed.

"That's right. Go my cage. Go and open your door."

------ Colette's Secret Place (Real) ------

For the second day in a row, Sheena found herself sitting alone at the place Colette had shown her, staring down at the village. Try as she might, and she tried real hard, she always seemed to end up coming here. She just could not understand what this place had that could draw her to it, other than a breathtaking view. She sat on a log that was no doubt moved there by Lloyd way back when and watched the people go about their business. Her mind shifted uncomfortably to the last month that Lloyd and herself had spent, and what it represented to her. She knew it would end soon, either by the two accomplishing their goal, or by Sheena's other promise. Eventually, Sheena would take over for her Grandpa as the Chief of Mizuho and regretfully depart from Lloyd's company. She had no doubt that Lloyd would not stop endlessly roaming the planet until he was sure every single exsphere was destroyed, so she wanted to enjoy whatever time they had left together.

Leave it to Yuan to go and screw that up. Yet the more she let her lamentations of Lloyd's absence gestate in her head, the more bored she began to feel. And along with that boredom came a newfound anger at both Yuan and Lloyd. Yuan at the fact that this was pretty much all his fault and Lloyd in letting her get to the point where she could not entertain herself without him.

"Stupid Renegades…Stupid Yuan…Stupid Lloyd…" Sheena grumbled miserably, kicking a rock off the cliff.

"Uh oh…trouble in paradise." A voice called from above. Sheena's head whipped upwards to see Zelos floating none too far above her, staring directly down her dress. "Well, your paradise maybe. Right now I'm in Heaven." Just the goofy smile plastered on the idiot chosen's face was enough to tip her over the edge. Slipping her foot underneath a rather large stone, she whipped it into the air, driving the chunk of earth right in between Zelos' eyes. What she did not count on was Zelos dropping out of flight and landing with a thud on top of her. Even worse for her, Zelos had managed to stay conscious enough to continue not only breathing, but talking as well. "Now this is more like it."

"Zelos…get off of me or I **_SWEAR _**I'll make it so you'll never have children." Sheena uttered in a deathly violent tone. Approximately three seconds later, which Sheena believed to be the amount of time it takes an idiotic pervert chosen to process the threat to his manhood inside his head, Zelos leapt off Sheena. A handful of seconds later, Sheena was back on her feet, and Zelos had just clued into the fact that his head was sporting a rather large bulge in between his eyes.

"Owww….Why did you do that?" Zelos whined, rubbing his forehead weakly.

"Maybe it has something to do with your wandering eyes." Sheena growled through clenched teeth.

"They weren't wandering though…I knew exactly where they were." Zelos shot back, a smug grin on his face.

"There are lots of rocks here Zelos, and I am not prone to missing." Sheena threatened, watching Zelos' grin wipe itself from existence. Pleased with her handy work, Sheena let a smile slip onto her face. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching children…as scary a thought as that is."

"Oh hush my voluptuous beauty. It's lunch time anyways. Colette agreed to watch them so I could come and make sure my hunny is feeling happy! And besides that, I'm a great teacher. Many children look up to me. I've even got a fan-club that threatens to grow larger than Raine's." Zelos bragged, waving his handing in front of him as he mentioned his accomplishments.

"And just how many of those members are of the fairer sex?" Sheena quipped, chuckling as Zelos gave her an incredulous stare. "Life sure seems to be going well for you then. Do you even visit Meltokio anymore?" Sheena questioned, seemingly out of the blue. Zelos blinked in confusion before regaining himself.

"Seles has Meltokio covered for me. I get letters from Sebastian time to time, and of course tons upon tons of fan-mail from my darling hunnies." Zelos held back a burst of laughter as he watched Sheena roll her eyes at him. "Sometimes I get a letter from Hilda, begging me to come back." He wasn't sure if the look that crawled its way into Sheena's eyes was one of disbelief that royalty was begging his return, or if she wasn't buying what Zelos was selling.

"Why don't you? You had everything there." Sheena inquired, confused. She just could not understand why Zelos would give up being the loved and filthy rich Casanova that he was and become a simple, if not narcissistic and vain, school teacher in a seemingly backwater town. He _had_ power, wealth, fame and just about as much action as any high class man could fathom, and then some. "What made you give up the high life?" It annoyed her when she saw Zelos flash that knowing smile, the one that made the recipient of such a face feel like a naive little child.

"That's simple. Because I wanted to. I mean, in Meltokio…and Tethe'alla for that matter, everyone knew me as the chosen or former chosen. I mean, I was an automatic center of lust for all the fine women. Yet here…people know me as Zelos Wilder." He replied, walking towards the edge of the cliff, and glancing down at the village. A warm smile slipped onto his face as he watched the quiet and quaint little town and it's people going about and doing their task. "There's no real mention of my being the chosen here. I'm not excused for doing something wrong, or excused from doing work." For a moment in her life, Sheena felt as though she was not talking to Zelos. It was as though she had left a three-year old brat and returned to find a matured young man. However…

"That's not all of it is it?" Sheena continued dryly, knowing full well what was coming.

"Well, add in the fact that Raine is a smokin hottie, and my little angel Colette…what more could a guy need? Aside from a little bit of Ninja booty." Zelos lit up when he heard footsteps, watching Sheena walk up beside him. When Sheena did absolutely nothing to the swordsman, he sighed in relief and stared down at the village with her.

"Keep dreaming Zelos." She chimed quickly, before pushing him off the cliff. She grinned as the former chosen tumbled towards the ground, sprouting his wings just soon enough to cushion his landing, though not by much. She waited for the clear sound of a thump before turning around and walking away, ignoring the agitated cries of the now grounded Zelos. "Stupid Zelos." Sheena added, chuckling to herself as she made her way back to the actual village.

------ Iselia (Dream) ------

For what seemed like the hundredth time in the last twenty four hours, Lloyd's wings blew away the loose dirt and dust at the place he chose to land, some meters from the entrance into Iselia. Landing on the floor gently, Lloyd's wings faded from existence again, leaving the boy planted on his knee and panting heavily. He was tired, he was in an awful amount of pain, he was beyond feeling drained of energy, and he was at his wits end. Someone that was supposed to have been dead was very much alive and kicking, how his former friends had found them was enough to boil him alive, and even though he truly did not like the man, his former friends had killed Kuchinawa, a person who despite his hatred of both Lloyd and Sheena, agreed to help them. But like a full circle, Lloyd had found himself back where all the pain began. This time he would enter the village prepared to do a deed that horrified him. He would march in there, swords drawn and battle ready, and do whatever he needed to. For Sheena's sake, Lloyd needed to be ready to do what he considered an unthinkable act and an unforgivable crime.

But nonetheless, he was prepared to do whatever was necessary. Grunting as he took the first step, fatigue clawing at his will to try and coerce him into just standing and letting himself slip into a state of rest, Lloyd began to march towards Iselia. Slowly, he pulled his swords out of his sheathes, spinning each blade around in his hand before letting his arms and blades rest at his sides. Unbeknownst to him, his exsphere was a pulsing shade of velvet. Even if he had seen it, it probably would have caused very little change in Lloyd's attitude. His eyes were firmly set on the gateway to Iselia and what he knew it would represent.

This time there would be no crowd of people happy to see him return.

"Hold on Sheena…I'm coming for you."

------ Renegades Base ------

"Try adjusting the variations of test twelve so that it measures for echoes of extreme conditions within the sphere itself." Yuan muttered, a hand resting agitatedly on his forehead. For the past three hours, he and his lovely guest had spent their lives and attentions focusing on the task of finding out what Lloyd's exsphere was. Together, they had ran through more than sixty variations of tests and observations, and only found out that it was getting stronger and stronger. Yuan had noticed a handful of moments ago that Lloyd's exsphere had become a deep shade of velvet, something that visibly alarmed both the half-elves.

"…Nothing." Raine muttered in response as the test showed up negative. Not wanting to give Yuan another chance to order her, Raine started another test. She watched the hibernation chamber, and more importantly, Lloyd carefully as the test ran it's course. "Yuan…Lloyd's sweating."

Confused by the news, Yuan turned to look the subject, spotting his perspiration. More importantly, he saw Lloyd's face contorted into a far more determined one. Walking over to a specific console, Yuan entered in a few commands that changed the information on the screen.

"He's…" Yuan began, confused by the information he was reading. "He's experiencing severe mental fatigue…and judging by the emotional ratios…"

"He's prepared himself to battle something." Raine muttered, as she heard the screen beep in response to the completion of the test. Turning to it, her face lit up as she finally found a definitive result. "YUAN!" Raine called out, not waiting for a response. "This test! It came up with a result…do you know something called an 'Aeon Jewel'?" Raine inquired. She had been aware of Yuan's footsteps a handful of moments ago, just after calling his name. When she heard them stop after relaying the results, and then nothing following, she turned to face him. "Yua-" Raine began, before witnessing his face.

Yuan just stood there, eyes opened as wide as she had even seen them. The color had drained from his face completely, leaving him as though he had seen a ghost. His hands were beginning to tremble furiously, as though he had just seen Death himself claim another loved one. But what truly disturbed and worried Raine was the immaculate and total horror that rested with his blue eyes. The fact that she had never seen Yuan so completely petrified not withstanding, those eyes disturbed her.

"Yu-Yuan?"

"Mithos…" Yuan began, his fist tightening to the point where he was digging his fingernails through the fabric of his clothing and into his palm. "…you son of a bitch. What have you done you foolish little child?" Despite his intense words, Yuan's voice was as quaky as his hands. Raine had absolutely no clue what was going on, nor what could be so horrible that it actually brought Yuan to the point of falling apart.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Raine…" Yuan muttered, forcing his voice to straighten out. "We've all been played by Mithos. You, myself…everyone." Yuan forced out, before turning quickly to the communications screen. "Symphonia is in even worse trouble than it was when Mithos was alive. Oh Martel no…" Yuan muttered panicked, wiping his brow. Raine had never seen Yuan lose his cool so badly before. It was enough to cause her to panic. If it was enough to reduce Yuan to this state, than Raine absolutely knew how bad it had to be. "Kratos needs to know this…At the very least he needs to be able to say goodbye to his son, should it come to that."

------ Iselia (Dream) ------

Lloyd stepped into the village, raising his sword arms into battle positions. The town was completely silent, not a person to be seen or a sound to be heard. It was as if no one existed within the village. In the center of the town was something Lloyd had seen only once before. It was a stage, though no where near large enough for a troupe or a band. On that stage was a pillar of wood the stuck out vertically from it, and on top of that pillar was a horizontal pillar of wood. Dangling from the overhanging timber, directly over the center of the stage was a long piece of rope fashioned into a noose. The very structure was enough to tear into Lloyd's soul.

He remembered Raine talking about it once in a class. The device had given Lloyd nightmares at the time, but he never forgot what it was and what it was meant to do. It was called a gallows. Magnius almost hung Chocolat from one, and now the people of Iselia were about to do the same.

"NOW!" He heard from somewhere. Before Lloyd could do anything, a blast of ice slammed into him, tossing him hard into a tree. His swords dropped to the ground as his body met the tree with an ugly thud. Without any warning, chains were whipped around him, securing his body to the base of the tree before he could even blink. He felt rough rope wrapped themselves tightly around his wrists, yanking his arms into the air. When the yanking stop, Lloyd tried to pull them free, only to find the ropes around his wrist firmly secured to the branches above him. He tossed his head side to side until he felt another chain wrap itself around his forehead and secure it to the tree, forcing him to look forward. Everything was happening so blindingly fast that Lloyd couldn't do anything at all to try and free himself before it was too late. In what had seemed like only a heartbeat, Lloyd was firmly bound to the tree, incapable of any real movement.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Lloyd screamed, desperately trying to free himself in any method he could. He yelled and roared like a ferocious animal as his tried to remove himself from his sudden bonds, but found he could do nothing of the sort. He poured all of his will, energy, and attention into the fruitless task of freeing himself, only to be met with defeat. It was about then that he noticed two very horrifying things happening on and near the stage. On the stage itself was Raine, watching Lloyd intently, while beside Raine was a bound and blindfolded Sheena. Lloyd's body went rigid at the sight of her on her knees, hands bound behind her and her eyes blinded to the world. The one thing Lloyd noticed was that Sheena seemed to be conscious, which meant she either miraculously cured herself of the disease, or someone else had cured her before taking her away. Or after taking her away, it really didn't matter at all.

"Lloyd…glad you could join us." Raine yelled, as the townspeople gathered around the gallows. Among them were a bandaged Genis, Presea, and Colette; while on the stage were Raine, Zelos, and the bound Sheena, who seemed to come alive when Lloyd's name left Raine's lips. Her head began to swing around, desperately and futilely attempting to find Lloyd through the black fabric that stole her sight from her.

"Lloyd? LLOYD!" Sheena yelled, only to be met with a blunt shot from Raine's staff. As Sheena fell over on her side, groaning in pain, Lloyd's anger tripled in strength.

"**DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH SHEENA LIKE THAT!**" Lloyd screamed, trying harder than ever to free himself. Try as he might though, the bonds would not break. He was completely and utterly helpless. Only a handful of horribly taunting meters ahead of him was Sheena, being abused by the very people he once considered his closest allies. The feeling that the inability to do anything to help Sheena left him with tore at his heart like a voracious dragon.

"As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted…welcome Lloyd." Raine began, nodding to Zelos. The former chosen of Tethe'alla picked the weeping Sheena off of the ground callously, and slipped the noose around her neck, smiling at Lloyd all the while. The sight sent Lloyd into a furious panic, now fully aware of what was about to happen. His body declined into a horrified trembling, the color flushed from his face and his eyes seething the very horror that was gripping at his soul. And there was not a thing he could do at all.

"To the execution of Sheena Fujibayashi."

* * *

A/N: HA-HAH! Now that is a cliffhanger. Oh yes, I can see it now. The entire world that reads this is going to come after me. I'm as dead as a man who snitched out a mob boss. HA-HAH…body in a wood chipper. That's my future. 


	9. Chapter 9: The Awakening, Part II

**Insaneiac: Welcome to the second part of this three part Act ender. What can you expect from this one? Well, I'll tell you at the bottom, after the chapter is done. Ha-HAH! Trickery… But seriously though, this chapter will answer the two burning questions. "What the $ is an Aeon Jewel?" As put so tactfully by my little brother, and "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO KILL SHEENA ARE YOU?" As asked by 23 out of the 24 scathing emails that threatened my life. I think by now we have all distinguished that I feed off death threats. They give me strength and power! Enough to power my doomsday…Whoops, you're not suppose to know that. Heh. Now then, without further ado, I present the part two of three of The Awakening.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or the characters within Tales of Symphonia. Namco does. I do, however, own the Aeon Jewel.

**_Rating Note: This chapter in itself is a border line M for the level of graphic violence, blood, and character death. You've been warned. Also…language is again just the slightest bit heightened._**

**_

* * *

_**Chapter 9: The Awakening, Part II

* * *

"You can't be serious." Lloyd muttered weakly, watching Zelos tighten the rope around Sheena's neck. Lloyd winced within his bonds as she squealed in horror at the tensed rope around her neck, trying her hardest to break her hands free from the rope that bound them together behind her. Lloyd himself was petrified as he observed the entire scene, his eyes locking onto Raine's with the gravest of gazes. "Raine! This is madness!" Even in the dim light provided by the coming sunrise, Lloyd could see the markings of beatings along Sheena's face. Even though her eyes were covered by the black blindfold, he could see her tears staining her face. Even being so faraway, he could hear clearly the sounds of her frantic breath and her choked whimpers. "Raine, this is torture and senseless murder! This is _exactly _what you had said you hated about the two worlds. Please Raine…PLEASE! Stop this!"

"No Lloyd, this is doing what must be done." Raine responded, turning to Sheena. "She is guilty of crimes that can only be paid by death."

"But I didn't do-" Sheena whimpered, silenced by an echoing slap from Raine. A choked whimper soon followed from Sheena, accompanied closely by a screech of pain as Raine roughly took Sheena's chin in her hand, squeezing it torturously.

"The accused are not blessed with the right to speak." Raine growled, releasing her chin and backhanding the Mizuhoan. Raine turned back to eye a raging Lloyd, yelling in anger as he tried to pull from the tree. She could clearly see the rage that burned within his eyes, the raw desire to disembowel alive within his brown eyes. "She has committed crimes against myself, Colette, Zelos and everyone of Iselia. But most importantly of all, she committed against you, Lloyd, the savior of the two worlds. For this, she has forfeited her right to live."

"RAINE!" Lloyd roared, his voice carrying a feral tone to it. "Stop being STUPID! Sheena has committed no crimes…NONE! I rejected Colette and her love…" Lloyd began, glaring at Colette. "_Her tainted love_. I was the one who refused to stay in Iselia! I WAS THE ONE THAT REFUSED TO BE YOUR FRIENDS ANYMORE! So if you are going to hang anyone…Hang me!" Lloyd yelled, trying futilely to pry his arms from the ropes that bound them.

"Lloyd, you stupid ass." Zelos began, smiling wickedly. "You just aren't smart enough to do things like that by yourself. She manipulated you, used you. Her entire goal was to simply take you away from us. To turn you against your real friends. Simply put Lloyd, Sheena's a dirty…" Zelos started, stroking Sheena's cheek degradedly. When Sheena wrenched her head away, Zelos seized her cruelly by the hair, wrenching her head backwards and forcing her to face him. Lloyd could see her weeping as Zelos manhandled her; hear her whimpers and squeals of confusion and pain. Twisting the hair in his hand, Lloyd growled as he heard Sheena scream out in pain. "Little…tramp."

"ZELOS!" Lloyd screamed, throwing himself forward as best as he could. Even though he barely moved at all, the sound he created in doing such an action was enough to cause a handful of the villagers to back up. "Let go of her now, or I will take those hands from you!" When Zelos simply scoffed and pulled back harder, Lloyd gave another beast like roar, throwing everything he had into freeing himself. Once more he found himself completely unable to do anything of the sort.

"Lloyd, why do you care so much for such an awful person?" Presea cued in, tilting her head curiously. "I do not understand Lloyd. You are such a noble person, why do you associate yourself with such horrible trash."

"Raine…please just let her go." Lloyd spoke, ignoring Presea. He stared right into Raine's eyes, doing his very best to attach with her on a level of reason. "I'll stay in Iselia…I'll marry Colette…I'll do anything you want, anything at all!" Lloyd begged. The more he watched Sheena stand there, that noose threatening her very existence, the more it took from him. He could hear her every whimper, her every heavy and ragged breath. Whimpering himself, Lloyd gazed away from Sheena, reestablishing eye contact with Raine. "Please…I will do anything at all…Just don't kill her…" A sniffle came as Lloyd felt himself being to weep. "Please don't kill Sheena Raine…Please."

Raine let a smirk slip onto her face, as a hand rose itself to brush the back of her hand across Sheena's reddened face. The Mizuhoan winced at the contact, whimpering. "Lloyd, you had your chance to save your little flower. Had you simply abandoned her when you first came here, Sheena would not have to die now. But it is out of our hands now. You've made your choice Lloyd." Raine dictated, grabbing the back of Sheena's head a forcing it as far forward as she could. Lloyd growled as he heard another squeal of pain escape Sheena. "If you wanted to spare the criminal, you should have made the right choice when I first gave it to you. Now we have to protect you Lloyd." She released the back of Sheena's head, allowing her to fall back to the center of the hatch.

"LLOYD!" Sheena cried out just seconds before Raine drove her staff into the girl's stomach. Sheena cried out in pain as the blow rippled through her body. She desperately wanted to collapse to her knees, but the noose around her neck forced her to stay up. Instead, Sheena broke into panicked sobs, weeping miserably as she stood awaiting her death. The sound of her crying like this was knives to Lloyd, digging into his flesh and tearing apart his soul.

"LET…" Lloyd roared, taking one final chance at freeing himself, throwing everything and anything he had into this attempt. He felt the tree crack behind him as he forced every fiber of his being into once more trying to free himself. "…HER GO!" Lloyd screamed, before finally succumbing. His body went lax once more, the tree he was tied to only slightly cracked. As his head hung, Lloyd began to weep. Lifting his head, he once more attached his gaze to Raine's. "Please…PLEASE RAINE!" Lloyd cried out in choked sobs. "Don't kill Sheena. Not my Sheena…" Lloyd wept.

------ Iselia (Real) ------

Content with her new hiding spot and content with the hopeful fact that, if there truly was a God or Goddess watching her, Zelos was now crippled from the waist down; Sheena exhaled fully and leaned back on the large branch she had picked out for herself high up in the trees. While she was more than certain that being alone would only cause her to, once more, focus on the combined fact that she missed Lloyd and was extremely bored, she wanted to be alone. Although she had seen Zelos just settling into Iselia when Lloyd and herself had embarked on their journey, she never expected him to change as much as he has. Despite the fact that he still had the voyeuristic side that still made him Zelos, he seemed to be happy. Not the kind he faked when around women, or the brief, sincere periods where he had found justification in his living on.

Zelos Wilder seemed to be genuinely happy. For the first time since they met, Sheena smiled warmly as his named slipped into her head. The more it grew, the more she realized just how much of an effect Zelos had had on her. While still being a pig that more than likely would drown his mother for the chance to get into the ninja's pants, he was always able to, when it mattered the very most, distract Sheena and cheer her up.

And that was when Sheena understood what it was Colette liked about him. Zelos had lived his life under the title as "The Chosen." It threatened to swallow him whole throughout his life. Now that he was free from it, people began to learn about what the real Zelos was like. Colette had begun to dissect and discover the real Zelos. Even after that brief conversation with the pervert and Sheena could see he had changed.

"Who would have guessed that the idiot, pervert chosen could even change? Guess Lloyd just has that effect on people."

"It's not too hard to believe, is it?" Sheena's head whipped upwards, fully expecting to see Zelos trying to peak down her dress. As her mouth shot open to try and insult the red-headed chosen, it stayed open as she saw who it truly was.

"Orochi? What are you doing here?" Sheena blurted out surprised. The blue clad ninja simply nodded, perched upside down on the branch above her with his arms crossed. Uncrossing his arms, Orochi reached into his outfit to pull out a slip of paper, holding it in between his index finger and middle finger.

"A Renegade brought this to me. He confronted me, gave me this and demanded I gave it to you. I couldn't say even a single word before he ran off. Sheena, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Orochi muttered, handing her the paper.

"It's…complicated Orochi." Sheena struggled to say, noticing the un-amused glance within Orochi's eyes. The male ninja shook his head sadly, crossing his arms again as he gazed down at Sheena disapprovingly.

"Sheena, when are you going to stop with these foolish adventures? You need to start learning the ways of the chief. Chief Igaguri is quite old, and his time is coming Sheena." Orochi winced at the glare he gained from Sheena. "All I am saying is that it's time to stop roaming the world and come home."

"Thank you for the concern Orochi. I will return when Lloyd and I have finished our quest to destroy the exspheres though, just like I told you the last time." She made no movement as Orochi dropped from his vertical perch, landing on a branch below with catlike grace.

"Sheena, is it the quest you are interested in, or is it Lloyd?" Orochi glanced back to make eye contact with Sheena, nodding once more. "Do not forget, Sheena. You are our next chief, and your duty to Mizuho outranks everything else." Content that he got his message across, Orochi turned away from Sheena. "I have to leave now Sheena. I was due back in Mizuho already, and I am positive that Tiga will give me an earful on my tardiness. Farewell Sheena."

"Yah, bye." Sheena replied shallowly, watching Orochi disappear. _'Leave it to Mizuho to depress me again…Stupid Mizuho.'_ Turning her thoughts to the paper in her hand, Sheena unfolded the note. On it was a single line in a writing she was positive she had seen before.

_Stay as far away from the Renegades as possible._

Sheena reread the note several times until the message seemed to burn itself into her soul. "What's that supposed to mean?"

------ Renegades Base ------

"Yuan…Do not mess with me on this." Kratos growled, glaring at his blue-haired friend. Even from across the echoing emptiness of space, Yuan flinched at the threatening glare Kratos gave him. "You said it yourself! An Aeon Jewel is impossible, its existence is just not achievable." It annoyed Kratos to no end when he saw Yuan shaking his head debasingly in response.

"I know what I said." Yuan snapped. Leave it to Kratos to bring back the snappy, cooled Yuan. "Even I can be wrong periodically. I've ran the test twice more, and it says the same thing. That exsphere your son has is a damned Aeon Jewel Kratos. You and I both know just WHAT one is supposedly capable of! This isn't some pathetic advanced Cruxis Crystal Kratos; **THIS IS A DAMNED GOD STONE!"**

"Can some one _please_ explain to me what the hell an Aeon Jewel is?" Raine growled, stamping her foot and taking the attention of both Seraphim.

"Raine…The Aeon Jewel is considered a mythical object. It's existence has never been fundamentally proven-" Kratos began, trying his best to word the description. However, his description was quickly halted when Yuan slammed his hand against the computer console, sighing in a greatly agitated manner.

"Until now!" Yuan growled. Throwing a hand back to Lloyd, Yuan continued. "This is no bloody time for discussing the legend of the Jewel. We need to get him out before it is too late. I know he's you son Kratos, but if that is truly an Aeon Jewel, the legendary God Stone itself, then we need to stop it before it awakens! We need to stop it or I can damn well guarantee us all a horribly painful set of deaths!"

Raine scoffed at the interruption, turning back to Lloyd. "His Exsphere…it's pulsing." Raine spoke, but was completely ignored by the arguing, four thousand year old comrades.

"Yuan, do what you must then. But so help me, if my son dies, I will squeeze the life from you." Kratos threatened with a voice colder and more unforgiving than Yuan had ever heard come from him. For the longest of time, the two friends just glared at each other, angry that it had to come to this and even angrier that Yuan had caused this to happen. Yuan, more than anyone else, knew how much Lloyd meant to Kratos. He knew that Lloyd was his one true link to his past, to his Anna. He also knew that Kratos would not only despise him if Lloyd died, Kratos would also simply come to Symphonia and kill Yuan. This was why what Kratos had to say next both surprised and de-nerved the blue haired half-elf. "The Derris Engines have recently become functional, so I am on my way to he-" Kratos started anew, before being cut out. For a second, nothing happened.

Then the room blacked out as the lights above them erupted. Raine ducked as the glass from the light fixtures rained from the roof, but Yuan was more focused on the console he was at. Once more the color drained from his being, as he read the message that the computer was giving him.

"You have got…TO BE KIDDING ME!" Yuan yelled, pushing away from the computer and charging towards another console. It was saying the same thing as the last one. "Is the entire world trying to screw me over today?"

"What is it?" Raine muttered, the power surge quickly returning in the form of the large comm. screen erupting outwards, electricity arching towards Raine. At the last moment possible, the electricity arched towards Lloyd, colliding with the hibernation chamber.

"He's waking up! And not just him…the Aeon Jewel too…DAMMIT!" Whipping his head to Raine, Yuan did what he did best in times of panic. He shoveled out orders. "RAINE! Watch every console like a newborn child! If ever one of them goes red and an alert message comes onto the screen, press the abort button." As soon as Yuan yelled this, the electrical wiring above him where the lights used to be erupted into the hibernation chamber. Soon, from what Yuan could see from the other hallways, the lights were erupting or fluctuating radically. The entire electrical system to the base was going either straight to hell, or right to Lloyd. This meant that haste was the single most important attribute he had now.

"And where are you going?" Raine hollered, but it was too late. Yuan had bolted from the room.

------ Iselia (Dream) ------

Raine gazed happily at the bound Lloyd, watching him weep and suffer while attached to the tree. "Lloyd, you only think this hurts. Believe me, the moment this tramp is gone, you'll thank us." When the sounds of Lloyd weeping cut themselves short, Raine cocked an eyebrow curiously. Slowly, Lloyd's eyes lifted up to gaze at Raine, his face tearstained and contorted into a rage that even felt violent to gaze upon. However, Raine shrugged it off, trusting the bonds that kept Lloyd at bay to keep her safe. Slowly she turned to face the whimpering ninja, grinning evilly as she watched her suffer. Raine callously grabbed the ninja by the back of her head, pulling it back carelessly, drawing forth another yelp of pain that seemed to please the crowd. This in turn angered Lloyd even further.

"I swear by Martel Raine…if you do this I will-"

"You'll what Lloyd? Kill me? Don't make me laugh!" Raine taunted, pulling back Sheena's head even further. Another cracked squeal of pain erupted from her lips. "You're just not the type Lloyd. You don't have such hate in you."

"Raine….please! Whatever I did I'm sorry!" Sheena cried out, trying to turn her head to face Raine's based on where it sounded like her voice was coming from. When she felt her head released from Raine's hand, she was sure that Raine had listened to her. "Please…Just let me g-" Sheena started again, her voice broken up by panicked sobs. It was made much worse when Raine's staff was driven viciously into her side. As the first blow echoed through her body vengefully, seconds later a second blow connected in the exact spot of the first. This time the pain felt like a part of her had shattered like glass. For brief period there was a blood curdling scream of pain, which lasted tortuously until her voice cracked and faded away.

"Don't you dare act like you are innocent!" Raine reprimanded, backhanding the hysterical Sheena viciously. "Don't you **_dare _**pretend that you don't deserve this!"

"STOP THIS DAMMIT!" Lloyd screamed, throwing himself forward once more, not to try and break free as much as it was to try and bring himself as close to Raine as possible. "Raine…let her go NOW! You and the rest of you horrible people are hanging an innocent woman! A lovely, pure, wholesome, comforting, AND INNOCENT WOMAN!" Lloyd screamed. When all he heard was laughter in return, he felt a part of him die a little more inside of him. "If any of you truly liked me, truly treasured me, THAN YOU WOULD STOP THIS!" Lloyd sobbed, trying once again to wrench his arm free. He was certain that if he had been fully rested, or even in a slightly better condition then he was now, he would have been free a long time ago. He would have been free and holding Sheena safely in his arms, keeping her safe from the people that he once called friends.

"Enough of this." Raine ordered, taking the attention back onto herself. Lloyd's eyes shot open in horror as he soon realized what was coming. Raine had grown tired of the speeches and making a demonstration out of Sheena. "Lloyd, do you have any last requests or words for the condemned?"

Lloyd stared hopelessly at Sheena, his bottom lip quivering.

'_Why…why is this happening? These people aren't my friends anymore…why! WHY!'_

'**They aren't your friends Lloyd. They never have been.' **A voice echoed in his head, one he realized instantly. It was the same person that led him here in the first place. **'Little brother, you have the power you need within you. These people are about to take Sheena, the single most special person to you, away from you. Why do you care for them? They deserve only your hate, your purest hatred. That hate will free you, it will help you.'**

'_**Lloyd! Don't listen to Mithos! Please, he's not trying to help you.'**_

'_You…why aren't you trying to help me then? At the very least, Mithos is telling me how I can free myself, and save Sheena. I don't want her to die…'_

'_**Lloyd, you don't understand. Hatred will not help you, it will only he-'**_

'**Little brother, that woman works for them. Why do you think she is telling you to stay put?'**

"Lloyd, your time is up." Turning to Sheena, Raine mockingly stroked her face with the back of her hand, smiling as she twitched and whimpered from the contact. "Sheena Fujibayashi, may Martel have mercy on your filthy and corrupted soul. I'm sure Hell has a very special place for you." With the final words out of the way, the crowd began to chant for the fast approaching execution. Through their ghoulish chants, Lloyd could hear Sheena screaming for his help, begging to be spared. It seemed to stir a new life within him, yet like every time before he couldn't do anything more than mark the tree with his bonds.

Then he saw it. Raine's hand gripped the lever tightly, and before Lloyd could say a word it was slammed backwards, popping the hatch beneath Sheena. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched Sheena plummeted ever so briefly until the rope reached its length. Then he heard the sickening sound of the rope tightening itself around Sheena's neck. As if forced by some ungodly force, Lloyd could hear her struggling, twisting and tossing. Her hands still bound together behind her back prevented her from any attempt, no matter how small, of freedom. Worst of all, he could clearly hear the sounds of the one he loved most choking to death, her gagging and choked pants for breath that never made it.

"no…NO…**NO!" **Lloyd screamed, going into a mad frenzy. Where as before he would throw everything he had into each attempt, now he was screaming and throwing himself radically and randomly, uncoordinated and desperate. "PLEASE!" Lloyd screamed, gazing at the former group he traveled with. "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" The sounds of Sheena choking to death was enough tear him apart from the inside, ripping into every fiber of his being and tearing it asunder. "SHEENA! PLEASE LET HER DOWN!" Lloyd screamed frantically. He winced mentally as he heard something new tossed into the addition. As clear as day was approaching, Lloyd could hear her heartbeat. It was frantic, threatening to burst out of her chest like a cannon, but Lloyd could slowly yet steadily hear it weakening. Sheena was dying and there was not a thing he could do about it other than watch.

"Please…please stop this. Colette, please! Genis…Presea…PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Lloyd hollered, his voice falling apart just like his heart was. Despite his best attempts, he could not even budge himself from the tree, let alone free himself. "LET HER GO YOU BASTARDS!" But no one paid any heed to Lloyd and his frantic screaming. He watched as Sheena tossed and tried with all her might to free herself, but only worsening it. Lloyd could see the sides of her head bulging as she struggled, her neck slightly bleeding as the rope dug deeply into her tender flesh. In between choked sobs, Lloyd continued to beg, to plead and scream for them to stop, but no one would.

No one would even listen.

------ Renegades Base (Real) ------

Yuan charged through the base like a cannonball fired from a cannon, rushing through the surging base as if there was no tomorrow in sight. He knew for a fact that if Raine had to press that button, it would not free Lloyd. It would kill him. It would lethally inject him with a toxin that would claim his life in seconds. That was why he was rushing like mad. He would try option B and simply disable all power to the base. The ceasing of the power flow would force the chamber to shut down, and as the drug only naturally lasted a handful of hours naturally, a day at best, Lloyd would wake himself up. It was getting there before his exsphere, the hallowed Aeon Jewel, awoke that was the trick. Since he knew his entire bases power supply was being sucked into the hibernation room, Yuan knew exactly what he had to do to accomplish this. That required his Swallow blade and the base's main power core.

Cursing as he reached the stairs, Yuan growled at the fact that any offensive magic from him, a lightning specialist, would only cause a major influx of energy to reach Lloyd. Still, he was the Renegade leader for a reason, and he was not about to let a run keep him from saving the world from a possible threat that would make Mithos look like fighting a three legged dog.

"Martel…please don't let me fail now." Yuan muttered into the air as he reached his personal quarters. In a matter of moments he had snatched his double bladed sword from the wall, and charged back out, forcing himself to make the run now that would take him to the core.

Three floors down.

------ Iselia (Dream) ------

Lloyd found himself wearing out, staring in horror as he watched Sheena's face turn velvet from the lack of oxygen. From the inside Lloyd was dying with her, watching her hang there like a criminal. "Sheena…I'm so sorry…" Lloyd wept. He could only watch as Sheena faded away from him, her body slowly stopping and going limp. Her choking cries had subsided, fading away like the rest of her was quickly doing. As if it was unstoppable, Lloyd focused on her heartbeat and her silent tears, as they trailed down her face miserably. He could hear it slowly fading away, each beat coming longer than the last.

'**Little brother! She is going to die! You will lose her forever! These people are inferior by nature, and when they saw you favoring Sheena they took her away. They aren't protecting you, they were jealous. These inferior beings deserve your wrath and hate. Give in to that hatred little brother…and you can still save her!'**

'_These…inferior…beings are my-'_

'**Little brother, your defense of them is admirable, but moronic. You are going to lose Sheena to them unless you do this.'**

'_**Mithos you scum! You set this all up! You're doing this on purpose!'**_

'**Little brother, I'm trying to help you here…She only wants you to watch. To suffer miserably'**

"Sheena?" Lloyd suddenly asked, as his head snapped back to reality. He hadn't realized it as he argued with Mithos and the woman in his head; he had completely slipped from reality. His ears twitched as he heard a very faint heart beat come from Sheena. Then there was nothing. "Sheena!" Lloyd yelled a little louder, still hearing nothing. Another few seconds and Lloyd felt every ounce of him fall apart. "SHEENA!"

"She's dead Lloyd." Raine said happily, jabbing her with her staff. "And good riddance."

"No…" Lloyd muttered in a pathetically weak voice. _'Sheena can't be dead…she can't be dead…no…'_

'**These Inferior beings took her.'**

"N-no…" He looked at Sheena one last time, her now entirely lifeless body. The picture of perfection and the single warmest thing in his life extinguished like a candle's flame. Within Lloyd, something stopped abruptly as he beheld his fallen angel, hanging there motionlessly.

'**Hate them little brother. They took your Sheena like they took my Martel.'**

Lloyd breathed in the air deeply, as his exsphere pulsed velvet once, then went pitch black. His eyes shot open with an intimidating force by themselves. All the villages that surrounded the gallows took a step back as they beheld Lloyd. Another instant later, and the tree that contained him erupted from his body as a brilliant light surrounded him. His wings whipped themselves into being, lifting his body into the air. His blades shook slightly before whipping towards their master, each landing firmly into his hands before lifting above his head and merging together to becoming the Eternal Sword. And then he teleported himself to the gallows, slicing through the rope with ease. Before Sheena could hit the ground, Lloyd grabbed her tightly, holding her dead body, her lifeless shell, as though it were fading away itself.

"This wasn't fair…" Lloyd wept, burying his face into her, crying openly into the dead body. "THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

Everyone but Raine had backed away progressively from Lloyd, his aura of emotion surrounding him completely altered from the gentle and comfortable Lloyd they all knew and loved.

"Sheena…please wake up…wake up." Lloyd begged into the corpse, wrapping his arms tightly around her body. "Sheena…I love you. I LOVE YOU! Don't leave me now, PLEASE! Wake up…" Lloyd begged. His hand reached and ripped off the blindfold that obscured her face, and gazed into the horrified, bloodshot eyes. Brushing a trembling hand on her lips, he whimpered miserably. "I love you Sheena. I love you. Please wake up…please. I don't want to live without you…not without you. I love you Sheena!" Lloyd cried out, kissing her forehead warmly. He wanted so desperately to believe he could revive her with his declaration, bring her back to existing with only a kiss.

"Don't you mean 'loved' Lloyd?" Raine corrected, drawing Lloyd out of his stupor. Slowly, his head rose from the corpse, laying it down on the stage gently. Very slowly, Lloyd rose to his feet, his back to Raine.

"You…filthy…" Lloyd began, spinning around to come face to face with Raine. While his facial features were devoid of any realizable emotion, his eyes carried the sorrow left by the destruction of his heart, and the rage the demanded their blood with ease. "INFERIOR BEINGS!" Lloyd roared, driving his fist as hard as he could into Raine's face. The blow instantly shattered her jaw, among other things, and flung her off the stage. She landed with a sickening thud against a tree, the impact eliciting a cry of burning pain from the half-elf. Slowly, the villagers' vision turned from Raine to Lloyd, who had the Eternal Sword firmly gripped in his right hand. "You'll pay…**ALL OF YOU WILL PAY**!"

------ Renegades Base (Real) ------

Raine had briefly enjoyed the period of rest from the fluctuations, believing that the crisis had been adverted. It had only lasted a hand full of minutes before she witnessed something that chilled her to the core. Lloyd's exsphere had gone pitch black, and his body was trembling within the chamber. Her eyes opened in horror as she watched Lloyd toss as though he was trapped within a horrid nightmare. Just as she was about to try and free Lloyd from his prison, the power surge came back ten fold, as every monitor around her erupted outwards, and arcs of lightning began to flow from all corners of the room into Lloyd's chamber. Inside it, she could clearly see Lloyd's back arched as the energy flowed in, she could see it coursing through his body.

"LLOYD!" Raine shouted in fear. She felt herself freeze up, unable to make any move other than watch as one of her most treasured pupils thrashed about within the hibernation chamber, frozen by the horror of not being able to do a damn thing about any of it.

------ Iselia (Dream) ------

Stepping off the stage, Lloyd swung the sword around himself slowly, altering the reality around the blade as he moved. Everyone stared in horror at the boy as he slowly walked towards where Raine had landed. There was still no emotion on his face as he made his way to the fallen healer, but everyone could see the rage that burned alive within his eyes, mixed in flawlessly with the sorrow that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I'll send you to hell first." Lloyd growled, as he moved upon Raine. He watched as Genis charged in-between his path, holding his kendama out in preparation to stop Lloyd.

"No way Lloyd. Cal-" Genis began, seconds before Lloyd drove the sword effortlessly though his petite body. The power of the stab was so vicious that it pinned the boy to the ground, sheathing the sword into and through Genis' stomach and into the ground. A cry of blood curdling pain escaped Genis as he felt the blade shred his insides, his hands whipping to Lloyd's arm to try and remove the sword.

"Shut up. What makes you think I care for ANYTHING you'd have to say?" Lloyd growled, roughly grabbing the side of Genis' head. "Enjoy the realm of Demons themselves, you worthless and pathetic excuse of life!" Without another thought, Lloyd withdrew the sword from Genis, pointing it behind him as the sword pulsed crimson and summoned forth a large, demonic portal opened into reality behind him. "Enjoy eternal damnation as a chew toy for the demons of Nephilim!" With that, Lloyd picked the half-elf child up by his head, and hurled him into the portal, sealing him away inside of Nephilim itself.

'**Now…Kill Raine. She took her from you, SHE should die painfully.'**

'_**Lloyd, please! This isn't real. It's a game that Mithos has created to try and turn you, and you are playing right into his hand.'**_

Lloyd ignored the female voice as he kneeled down to glare at Raine, breathing heavily down onto her face before wrapping his hand around her throat. "You killed Sheena…The woman I love." Lloyd growled, lifted her up off her feet and into the air. "And I'm going to take the life out of you just like you took it from her." His tone was filled with a thirst for vengeance as his grip tightened immensely, cutting Raine off from the air around her. She instantly began to claw and kick at Lloyd, fighting for freedom desperately. In response, Lloyd pulled her backwards and then drove her viciously into the tree. The impact caused Raine to scream in pain until it was silenced by her coughing up blood, splattering itself on Lloyd's arm and the ground below.

"LET HER GO!" Zelos yelled, charging Lloyd with his weapon readily drawn. He might have gotten to the point of pulling back for a first attack before Lloyd's Eternal Sword sliced clean through his body, instantly killing and halving the former Chosen of Tethe'alla. Colette was the first to cry out, falling backwards as she watched Zelos fall into a pair pieces, and the villagers themselves fled like rodents, desperately seeking hiding spots from Lloyd and abandoning Raine to her fate.

"Struggle for me Raine." Lloyd growled, squeezing even harder still.

------ Renegade Base (Real) ------

With a final burst of speed, Yuan drove himself through the door that led to the Core room. Taking a single glance at the large, cubed shaped core, Yuan brought his blade in front of him and nodded. Then, without even thinking about it, Yuan hurtled the Swallow with all the strength he could into the core, watching it both slice through the massive source of the bases power and then imbed itself in the wall. With a glorious display of energy erupting outwards, and electrical surges all about, The core erupted like a bomb, shattering all the glass within the room from the sheer level of power that the explosion carried by sound. Instantaneously, the power shut down to the entire base, and moments later the reserve power lighting came one, casting the base in a faint glow of yellow and red. Charging into the core room, Yuan retrieved the Swallow, and charged back to the hibernation room. He wanted to be there to see if Lloyd would come back as Lloyd, or if he'd be a vegetable…or if he was even alive at that.

------ Iselia (Dream: Just Prior to Core Disable) ------

Lloyd felt his fingers dig into her neck as he drew the life from Raine Sage, holding her up in the air with a single hand in a lethal, vice like choke hold. Behind him lie Zelos, sliced neatly into two pieces. Behind him some ways was all that remained of Genis Sage's time on Symphonia, a bloodstain and the deep impression his Eternal Sword had left when he drove it through him and into the ground. Now he was almost done with the one that had so willingly ordered Sheena's death. He could literally feel the life drain itself from her, flowing out of her in the form of a quickly weakening struggle.

"Be sure to give my regards to Zelos when you reach Hell!" Lloyd growled once more, as he tightened his grip to the fullest his strength could give. His face remained completely blank as he heard her choke out one final cry of pain.

'**Finally…The door has-'**

Then everything went black.

------ Renegades Base (Real) ------

Raine was pressed against the window of the chamber, anxiously watching Lloyd to make sure he was okay. It had been a handful of minutes since she had pried herself from the wall and risked staring into the chamber. Even with the power out, she was afraid of being shocked to death by the mass amounts of electricity that hard coursed through the chamber. When she saw him breathing, albeit slowly, Raine sighed out in sincere relief and reached to the side of the chamber, pulling as hard as she could on the door. With some degree of effort, Raine finally pried it open, just as Yuan reached the door. Raine felt for his heart beat, smiling as she felt it easily. Turning back to Yuan, she flashed him a joyous smile.

"YUAN, HE'S ALIVE!" Raine yelled relieved, wrapping her arms around the young swordsman. She had been so afraid that Lloyd would have had to die to protect the world that she openly began to weep onto his chest. Even Yuan was smiling as he watched, not one of his often cocky smiles, but a sincere one. It made him feel even better when he saw Lloyd gently rubbing the back of Raine's head to comfort her. "Lloyd…you're alright."

It was then that Lloyd gently lifted Raine's head off his chest, and brought her head levelled to his. "Professor…I feel better than alright." Lloyd began with a warm, filling voice. It brought a happy smile to Raine's face to hear Lloyd again. "In fact…I feel alive again."

'_Wait…what?' _Yuan's mind lit up as he heard Lloyd's last statement. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Raine was lifted up off her feet by her neck, which was in the grasp of Lloyd's hand. Before Yuan could do a thing or even shout a response, Lloyd hurled Raine with deadly force into a nearby console, embedding her body into the computers and causing a shriek of pain to escape Raine's lips as a chunk of metal stabbed into her and through her left side. Before he could turn away from Lloyd, his eyes whipped open, seizing Yuan's attention will the full force of a hammer blow to the back of the hand.

His eyes were sapphire blue.

"Dear Martel no…" Yuan muttered.

"Yes Yuan." Lloyd replied, smiling at the blue haired one in front of him. "Oh Martel yes."

Slowly, Yuan stumbled backwards, landing roughly on his butt as he began to back away from the chamber. "Mithos…you're supposed to be dead!"

* * *

A/N: Well folks, Lloyd has awakened. What more is there to say, other than OH SNAPS YO! MITHOS BACK FROM THE DEAD FOOL! There it is folks, the big bomb I've had planned since the beginning. While I might have played it up just a bit, I personally felt it was my biggest cliff-hanger ever. Anyways, expect the finale to Act One next week. Until then, Peace. 


	10. Chapter 10: The Awakening, Part III

**Insaneiac: So, since you miserable sods put up with my evil cliffhangers for what was the better part of the last five chapters, this is your reward. This is the finale to Act one of Faraway Promises and what a better way to end a beginning than with a climatic battle between two immensely powerful forces? No cliffhangers this time, I've pissed you all off enough with those. And for the record, this is one of the hardest things I've written.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Namco, Tales, or anything associated with Namco. If I did, every game would have the "evil path" option in it.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Awakening, Part III

* * *

"Surprised?" Lloyd uttered, tilting his head briefly to glance at Raine. She was breathing raggedly but he was already sure the wound would not kill her. It would only keep her out of his hair long enough to 'bury the hatchet', so to speak, with Yuan. Only in this case, he fully intended to bury the hatchet in between Yuan's eyes. Of course, he would wait for the picture perfect gaze of boundless, pure horror to leave his former companion's face before doing anything. 

"Mithos…you can't be here. There is just…no way!" Yuan shouted, unsteadily. He shut his eyes tightly and threw his head to the side as he tried to shake away the awful truth. "You should be dead!"

"Poor, poor Yuan…He's so stupid little brother." Lloyd replied, looking longingly at his exsphere. "He's such a silly little half-elf."

Yuan pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head as hard as possible. He glanced at Lloyd briefly, horrified by the fact that such a thing could happen. He had planned for several accounts of worst case scenarios, including Mithos burying himself within Lloyd's exsphere to revive himself at a later time. He had never in his wildest dreams or darkest nightmares considered the fact that Mithos would possess Lloyd. Not only that, but what felt most alarming was the fact that Mithos seemed to have become even further detached from sanity than he did in the last twenty years of his life. Now he was talking to his exsphere like it was a sibling. His view switched to Raine, who looked like she was in her own personal hell. Chances were she was dealing from just as much emotional trauma as she was physical pain.

"What are you sputtering about now Mithos!" Yuan demanded, pointing unsteadily at Lloyd.

"My little brother of course. I just wanted him to know everything is going to be alright, that big brother will bring vengeance to his betrayers." Lloyd spoke, his voice twisted like the words he sputtered.

"You're talking about Lloyd…you're insane. Lloyd's not related to you in any way. Who would want to be?" Yuan growled. He couldn't move fast enough to block the initial strike, a palm to the chest that hurled Yuan across the hall and embedded him in the wall.

"Yes…you're right. Lloyd doesn't feel like a brother…he's a part of me. He's my completion. I could never succeed because I was missing that final piece, but he came to me." Lloyd spoke, watching as Yuan slid to the ground in a heap, his eyes wide with a most numbed pain. "Lloyd and I are two sides of a coin, and now we're complete. I'd never let anyone harm a part of me, and Lloyd is very much a part of me."

"You're talking about the Aeon Jewel…aren't you?" Yuan choked out, coughing up a hefty amount of blood onto his lap.

"Maybe. True, I finally have my Godstone…but thanks to you and that useless half-elf woman, it never awoke fully." Lloyd growled, before dropping has hand away. "But Lloyd is in pain. Do you know why?"

"Because a ruthless little bastard decided that he wasn't content with being dead." Yuan growled, pushing to his feet slowly. "Or maybe because he's stuck with a freak like you playing around with his heart and soul. Either sounds like a living hell to me."

"Actually, little Yuan, you can blame yourself." Lloyd uttered, smiling at the surprised look from Yuan, and smiling wider as it quickly turned to anger.

"The hell are you talking about?" Yuan growled, picking his dual blade from the ground and starring viciously at Lloyd.

"You put him into that dreamscape did you not? You forced him to watch his friends turn on him and hang his heart's desire. In honesty, we both should thank you. Opening Lloyd's eyes up to the evils that this world represents was the best thing you could have ever done for him." Lloyd muttered, throwing his head back and laughing. "You see Yuan; it took being killed to realize that Lloyd wasn't my shadow, just blind! I'm sure Martel would want me to open my brother…my missing piece's eyes to the truth. That is what you do for someone you love Yuan.

Yuan cursed bitterly in response. "Who are you to talk about love? You abuse emotions, destroy emotions! You don't love anything!"

"I love Martel…I love Lloyd…I love my family. That is enough to remind me just what I am doing is right!" Lloyd muttered, wrapping his arms around himself. "And now, Lloyd sees with open eyes just how much the world hates him."

"So, you take the dream I put him in to help him realize his love for Sheena…and instead trick him into hating humanity…into hating the people living on Symphonia!" Yuan growled, grabbing the clasp on his cloak and removing it, tossing it aside. "How can you claim to love someone when you do that to them?"

"Well, maybe I helped out a bit. Guided the events from the shadows, made sure he never had the chance to win. But none of this would have been possible without you Yuan. Like it or not, you helped me more than anything else. As a reward, I'll let you glance freely upon your new God before I take your life from you."

A brilliant white light erupted from Lloyd as his statement finished, engulfing the room wholly. Yuan covered his eyes to avoid being blinded, but it seemed to fill everywhere, engulfing the entire area like a body of water. Finally, when it faded, the red swordsman Lloyd was no longer standing in his place. Kneeling in his place was a taller man in white, with long dirty blonde hair that descended to his shoulders. Slowly, the man pushed to his feet, and stood at full height. He wore a tight looking set of white armor, trimmed with black along it. At his shoulders where Angelic plates that pulsed a light shade of blue every so often. From each plate where ten strands of light that wrapped themselves around the gauntlets of each hand, the top of each a brilliant white, while the palm of the gauntlet was a void-like black. His lower body garb was much like that of his upper, the trims still the same black at the upper body. On his back where three large sheathes, two crossing over one large sheath, all filled with blades. From his back stretched out four large, angelic wings, starting as brilliant whites and fading into black. Yuan gazed in horror as he watched the former Eternal Swordsman transform into something that felt just as evil as it looked angelic.

"And so, the Angel Lord lives." The white one uttered, before lifting and tilting his head and glaring at Yuan. It horrified him how much he still looked like Lloyd, but how much he resembled Yggdrasill now. "Every God needs a name, one that will strike horror and demand obedience. I believe I shall be Llythos Yggdrasill-Aurion…but you can simply call me Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion."

"Mithos, you're insane. You said it yourself, the jewel isn't fully active." Yuan stated, gripping his Swallow tightly. He knew the speeches would soon fade. "And if think I'll call you anything other than your actual evil name, you're far crazier than you let on."

"The Aeon Jewel…the very product of what the powers of True Love and Pure Hate can do. You remember that, do you not? A crystallized soul of True Love and Pure Hate, their powers harnessed, combined to form an artifact of Godly power. That was what it said."

"So what?"

"Yuan…why do you think I ordered that exspheres should be made from human _lives_! Did you think I did it purely for revenge?" Mithos growled, stepping towards Yuan. Instead of maintaining the gap, Yuan went into a defensive stance, preparing himself for anything. "Do you think I wasted millennia after millennia of time creating these things for revenge? Come now, you cannot be that brutally foolish."

Yuan glared at Mithos darkly before continuing. "I thought you did it for revenge. You used the Cruxis Crystals as a basis for the exsphere, and we all know that those demonic things drain the emotions from a host. You…" Yuan stopped in mid stride, realizing very quickly what Mithos was talking about.

"Do you remember the Angelus Project? Kvar's little idea to get back into my good books?"

Yuan began to tremble, before locking eyes with Mithos. Even his eyes held the confident smirk that he wore on his face. It infuriated him. "You…no…" Yuan growled, shaking his head. _'He can't be that sick…that twisted. For the love of Martel, tell me he did not.'_

"I wonder what Kratos would think, if he knew that I orchestrated it." Mithos muttered, holding up the exsphere. "That his pathetic love was just a step towards my conquest." Even Mithos was unnerved by the level of anger that sheathed from Yuan's eyes. "That his meeting Anna was never coincidence."

"Mithos…you sick…" Yuan growled, swiping the air in front of him with his hand, lightning crackling around it as his rage threatened to overwhelm him. He once more locked eyes with the "Angel Lord", glaring enraged at the former comrade. "Kratos... you used him and his heart! You knowingly manipulated a man's purest feelings." Yuan sucked in a deep breath before spinning his dual blade around, and holding it out in front of him. "I'm glad Martel isn't here to see what a demon her brother has become. I think…no, I know that if she saw you now…she would take her own life just to be as far from you as possible." That was the statement that did it. He could see the smirks and evil confidence fade away from Mithos. Whipping his wings out behind him, Mithos reached back and removed the twin blades. Two long, glowing blades of purple light the resembled the Eternal Sword almost creepily.

"Yuan, you do not have the right to call me by that name anymore more. From now to forever, I am Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion the Eternal. Wielder of the Eternal Sword and the Eternia Blades, possessor of the Aeon Jewel." He muttered, tightening his grip around each of his blades. "I am the new God of this pathetic and ludicrous world…and Lloyd and I are going to shape this planet in the proper image."

"If it's all the same to you, I think Mithos will do just fine. I'm also afraid that, no matter what you say, you damn sure not a God to me. You just scum with a nice white dress and a four-pack of pretty little wings!" With that, Yuan leapt forward, driving the flats of both sides of the Swallow into Mithos' stretched out swords. Before he could do anything in terms of counter-attacking, Yuan knocked his swords up out of his way, giving him an initial opening. Spinning sharply, Yuan sliced deeply into Mithos' stomach, forcing the Angel to back up. A low growl escaped his lips as he felt his stomach with his hands. "And you still are pathetic at melee combat."

"And first blood goes to the meek one." Mithos growled, before the gash closed up on it's own. Yuan's eyes opened widely as he beheld the seemingly impossible. Shaking his head, Yuan whipped the Swallow back to his side, and sprouted his wings. Swinging his own blades around viciously, Mithos charged Yuan, driving the first blade towards him. Yuan spun himself around, catching the sword with his blade. Spinning the Swallow, Yuan immediately turned his defensive into an offensive, delivering fast and fierce blows to Mithos. He moved like water, the lightweight but vicious Swallow slicing through the air with incredible ease. Mithos adeptly blocked each incoming attack, but the fact was that Yuan left no opening and gave no quarter. This aggravated Mithos.

Finally, Yuan pushed off on a final attack, launching himself into the air. Holding his blade behind him, his hand coursed blue with energy before several arcs of lightning shot towards Mithos. To his surprise, Mithos caught the lightning with his blades, dispelling his attack with ease. Flapping his wings twice, Yuan launched himself back at Mithos, who caught his initial stab with the Eternia Blades. Before Yuan could react, Mithos slide the twin blades along the length of the Swallow, slicing into Yuan's arm. A grunt of pain escaped the Renegade leader's lips as he pulled himself back, attempting to put distance in between himself and Mithos.

"HEAVEN'S LIGHT!" Mithos screamed, pointing the Eternia blades at Yuan. Grunting, Yuan held the Swallow in front of him as a blast of light enveloped him. Seconds later, Yuan sliced through the middle of the attack, knocking Mithos' blades to the extreme right. In response, Mithos went into a sharp spin and attempted to deliver a horizontal slash across Yuan's face. The attack was blocked with ease, and the two went into a back and forth of attacks, the clanging of swords becoming almost rhythmic. Eventually, Yuan deflected one sword, only to be stabbed in the left shoulder by the other. A scream of pain escaped Yuan's lips as he felt the sword dig through his flesh. Mithos went to stab him in the gut as a follow up, but was deflected barely by Yuan. Just as Mithos went for another finishing blow, lightning erupted from Yuan's extended hand, and into the face of Mithos, hurling him down the hall, and leaving his sword deeply imbedded into Yuan's shoulder.

"What do you fight for Mithos?" Yuan yelled, grabbing the sword and wrenching it from his body. He hurled it behind him, imbedding it deep into the wall of the hallway. "Your sister? Your foolish ambitions? Or is it all just a game to you?"

Yuan grunted as he saw Mithos push from the ground, smiling madly at him. "I fight to create a paradise free of discrimination, for me and Lloyd and Martel!" With that, Mithos pushed off, charging towards Yuan with only one of his blades. "ECHO THRUST!" Mithos screamed, shooting himself towards Yuan with his blade extended. Leaping off the ground, Yuan dodged the stab, and went into a spin, bringing the Swallow down onto the back of Mithos, and embedding it within his flesh. Before Yuan could attempt a follow up, a massive eruption of light exploded from Mithos, tossing Yuan down the hallway and into a wall. A grunt of pain escaped his lips as he felt the unforgiving wall instantly stop his flight.

"What about you Yuan? Why do you care about humanity? They took Martel from you! FROM US!" Mithos yelled, wrenching his blade free from the wall, and sheathing both swords. His hand reached for the center blade, pulling free the Eternal Sword. "What does this wretched world represent to you?"

Yuan looked up at Mithos as he pushed himself from the wall, glaring ruthlessly at the former hero. "This world…nothing. I just want to honor your sister's last wishes, that's all. Martel's requests mean more to me than anything you could comprehend. I refuse to let you destroy what her life meant by doing this in her name." Yuan growled, pointing a hand towards Mithos. "That is why I stand against you!"

"We have the same goal!"

"No, we don't. She wanted a world free of discrimination, for you to be happy. Instead, you're a bitter and resentful villain seeking to remove emotions! You would take away from this world what you loved about Martel. Her love, her smile, her cheer, her positive attitudes and her infectious smile!" Yuan screamed, as energy found it's way to his hands. Suddenly, the half-elf charged from the wall, running towards Mithos. The angel stabbed his blade forward, only to cut into the air. As he looked up, he saw Yuan standing on the Eternal Blade, energy coursing from his hands violently. Before Mithos could blink, Yuan unleashed an immensely powerful blast of lightning, enveloping Mithos and the hallway. He felt the blade move from out under his feet, and landed gently, staring up as the light faded. Before he could even breathe, a blast of purple energy collided into him, and sent him flying back into the wall. Within split seconds of the first attack, Mithos pointed the sword towards Yuan and unleashed a large blast of purple energy erupted from it, driving Yuan through the wall and into a rather large training area with the base. A large batch of renegades glanced at Yuan, prepared to rush over and help him when he held up a hand.

"GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Yuan screamed, the men nodding quickly than departing. Grunting, Yuan force to his feet, just in time to feel a hand wrap itself tightly around his throat. Gagging in pain, Yuan felt himself lifted off the ground, and brought eye level to Mithos.

"Yuan, I promise you that before this is done, you will bow to me and beg for my forgiveness." Mithos taunted, squeezing Yuan's throat. Ignoring the pain as best as he could, Yuan clenched his hands around Mithos' wrist, and whipped both his feet upwards, driving them into his gut. Mithos dropped Yuan, and in turn, Yuan drove his fist as hard as he could into the side of Mithos' head. The latter was knocked down to the ground, giving Yuan time to try and get the Swallow back. Holding his hand out, an arc of lightning whipped towards his double blade, and called the weapon to his hand. As soon as his hand grasped around the handle of the weapon, Yuan went into a twist, catching the Eternal Sword's underside in mid stab. Whipping the blade upwards, Yuan threw Mithos off stance, driving the flat of his blade into Mithos' stomach. Mithos bent over in pain, waiting for his body to heal itself like usual.

Yuan jumped back, sliding a hand along the length of his blade. The Swallow began to light up with electrical energy, and as soon as Mithos got to his feet, Yuan made his move. Mithos once more went to stab at Yuan, only to find Yuan standing on his blade once more. This time however, he leapt off again, throwing the Swallow into the ground and creating a massive electrical eruption that threw Mithos across the room. Still airborne, Yuan pointed his hands at the downed Mithos and smiled.

"Feel the rage of the skies! INDIGNATION!" Yuan roared, as a circle of blue formed around and above Mithos. Before he could move, a brilliant and massive surge of electricity enveloped him completely, engulfing the room in a brilliant light. Landing on the ground lightly, Yuan lowered his hands and watched closely, checking to see if the blow had been enough to render Mithos defeated. In honesty, he did not want to kill Mithos. Not because he was still his deceased love's brother…but because he was inside the body of someone who deserved peace. Prying it from the ground, Yuan spun the Swallow around and held it behind him in a readied stance. With a growl, Yuan charged towards the attack center as the light began to fade away. Yuan never saw it coming as Mithos ran the Eternal Sword into Yuan's side. A blood curdling cry of pain escaped Yuan's lip as the mythical blade ripped through his flesh. Placing a free hand onto Yuan's shoulder, Mithos began to squeeze, slowly crushing the bones within his shoulder. Yuan screamed again as he collapsed to his knees in pain, eyes closed tightly as his voice began to leave him.

"Yuan…beg. Beg for the death that you deserve!" Mithos taunted, digging his gloved fingers into Yuan's flesh. The half-elf convulsed in horrible pain as he felt Mithos continue the punishment, his eyes open enough to see the pleasured smile resting on the angel's face. However, instead of scowling agonizingly, a slow smile formed onto Yuan's face. "What do you have to smile about?"

"You really should have killed that woman Mithos." Yuan choked, biting through the pain.

"And why is that?"

"Because healers don't die that easily!" A voice yelled from behind him. Mithos whipped around to see Raine standing, the wound healed nicely, with her staff glowing something fierce. "JUDGMENT RAY!" Raine screamed as a brilliant and massive ray of light slammed into Mithos' chest, and sent him careening into a wall. With an enraged scream, and a brief pulse of light from her being, the beam increased in size, driving Mithos' through the wall and out of sight. The beam evaporated, the light that filled the rooms with it, leaving Raine panting slowly. She glanced over at Yuan, who had just wrenched the sword from his body, only to have it fade from his hands. He glanced up at Raine weakly, before collapsing to the side.

"Yuan!" Raine hollered, running to his side. Resting her staff on his side and pressing her free hand to the side of his face, Raine began to heal Yuan. Slowly, the wounds begin to shrink and fade away. She knew it wasn't going to heal everything, but at the very least she could stop the bleeding and attempt to mend broken bones. Yuan coughed up another mouthful of blood, trembling as he forced himself back to his feet. "By Martel…Yuan…"

"Raine…how in the hell did you do that!"

"Time and place! Where's Lloyd?" Raine cried. It surprised Yuan that she didn't remember what Lloyd did to her. Or maybe she just wouldn't believe it.

"He's gone Raine…Lloyd's been possessed by Mithos." Yuan muttered, taking deep breaths to try and regain himself. "The only good thing is his exsphere wasn't fully awoken."

"But…Mithos is dead! I saw Lloyd finish him with my own two eyes! He even destroyed Mithos' Cruxis Crystal."

"In turn, his crystal was absorbed into Lloyd's exsphere. Raine, Lloyd was played just like you and I. Only he's getting the worse end of the deal. That bastard's possessing Lloyd to finish what he's started!"

"Possession?" A voice called from behind them. The two whipped around to see Mithos floating at the hole Raine had created, completely unscathed. "No…Lloyd _wants _this. Lloyd wants revenge for what you people did to the one he loves. I'm not forcing him to do anything, he gave me control. "

"You're lying!" Raine screamed, as Yuan stepped in between her and Mithos, Swallow drawn behind him in a battle-ready position. "Lloyd would never…NEVER want you back!"

"Lloyd is me Raine. We're the same. We complete each other, now and forever. All he needed to see was what it felt like to truly lose that loved one." Mithos taunted, landing gently on the floor, not five feet from the two half-elves. "This Aeon Jewel will change everything, will fix everything. With it, I can revive Martel, and Sheena. Lloyd and I can live happily with the two we love the most, over a paradise where everyone is exactly the same. We'll be one happy family, together forever."

"Mithos…" Raine muttered, shaking her head and delivering a glowering gaze to the angel.

"My name is not Mithos anymore. It's Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion! And I will destroy you." Mithos growled, as the Eternal Sword formed in his hand, pulsing purple. "I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!"

------ Iselia ------

Zelos was currently tending to the duties Raine had left him, muttering under his breath as he went about his duties. It had been roughly a day since Raine had left, but even that was enough to annoy the former Chosen of Tethe'alla. He truly wasn't cut out for the duties of mayor-hood yet, and he knew it. More than anything, he wished he was back with Colette at the school, preparing the next day's lesson or helping her cook at her house. It surprised him the more he looked at it how much more he was doing for himself and others now. A stupid grin crawled onto his face as he came across a complaint notice from one of the young women of the village. It stated that she wanted the "Pervert red-head teacher to be forced to take a knee to the package." Zelos buried a hand into his hair as he laughed at the message before putting it aside.

He heard the door open up slowly, and looked up to see Sheena standing there confused. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Huh?"

"Oh yes, Miss Banshee… please go wait in the reception area, and I'll be with you in just a sec." Zelos cracked, pointing towards the bed. He laughed at the top of his lungs as he watched Sheena's face contort into the violent one he knew so well, which was actually a face she used to avoid looking embarrassed.

"Shut! Up! Pervert!" Sheena yelled, stamping her foot after each word. It really didn't help Zelos much, who seemed to laugh even more. Sheena, semi-patiently, waited for Zelos to stop cackling like a madman. In the back of her mind, she contemplated dragging her back up to the cliff and tossing him off again.

"Consider that pay back for pushing me off a cliff! I could have been seriously injured!" Zelos whined, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Ah yes…too bad you weren't."

"Oooh…harsh!" Zelos whined, feigning injury. "Why are you here anyways, my voluptuous hunny?"

"I'm heading to Mizuho now. Yuan said Lloyd would be going there when he was done with him. Don't want to keep him waiting too long, you know?"

"Oooh. Sheena." She gave Zelos an incredulous glare before he continued. "Need an escort?"

"Even if I did, I'd rather take Kuchinawa than you." Sheena cracked, delivering a sledgehammer blow to Zelos' ego. It was about that time when a rumbling ripped through Iselia, shaking it powerfully for a brief handful of seconds before stopping. Charging out of the house, Sheena and Zelos joined the massive collection of villagers as they gazed off towards the west as a massive beam of pure light shot into the sky, tearing a hole through the clouds. Their eyes went wide as plates as they watched the completely unreal seen, murmurs and hushed whispers being the only sounds they heard from the crowd.

"What in the hell is that!" Zelos yelled, turning to see Sheena pull out a wing pack.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Sheena stated determinedly. Just before she brought the Rheaird out, a gloved hand clasped her shoulder gently, shocking Sheena. She dropped the wing pack and drew her cards, ready to attack when her eyes met with a head of auburn hair. A slight gasp was all it took for the entire crowd to turn around, shocked to see Kratos standing with his hand resting on Sheena's shoulder. "Kratos! How the-"

"Now is not the time for pleasantries Sheena." Kratos replied, his voice hurried. Turning to Colette, he smiled warmly as his eyes met with his former client. "Colette, take Sheena inside and hide until I return." When he saw Colette tilt her head curiously, Kratos raised a hand in protest. "Do not ask why right now, just do it please."

"No, I'm going to that light!" Sheena replied determined. She was shocked when Kratos took both her shoulders in her hands, and knelt before her, locking eye contact.

"Sheena…right now Lloyd needs you to hide. I can't even begin to explain what is going on right now, only that Lloyd is in danger. So just for now, go with Colette and hide. Please. Lloyd would never forgive me if something bad happens to you." Kratos spoke sincerely, waiting for Sheena to nod before standing back up and looking at Zelos. "Coming?"

Glancing at Sheena, Zelos could see her beginning to tear up. "You bet. I can't let you very well go on your own now, can I?"

"Still as arrogant as ever." Kratos quipped, before his wings sprouted into view. Soon after Zelos' wings appeared, and the two flew off towards where the beam of light had been. Not wasting energy to talk, the two flew as fast as they could through skies. Back at Iselia, Sheena watched them disappear into the horizon, flying towards what she could only assume was the Renegade base. Why else would Lloyd be in danger. She wanted more than anything to go after them. The prospect of Lloyd being in trouble clawed at her heart strings. Yet it was what Kratos said that kept her from going anyways. Feeling a tug on her arm, she turned to see Colette, feigning a smile to try and calm the ninja down. Even Colette could see the tears of worry preparing to flow freely from Sheena's eyes. In the back of her mind she suddenly began to feel more afraid than she had ever felt before.

"Lloyd…please be okay." Sheena muttered, before following Colette.

------ Destroyed Renegade Base ------

The base was in pieces all around them in a deep crater, as Mithos' attack faded away. What it was Yuan had no clue, and was fairly certain he never would. Lying at his feet was a bloody and beaten Raine, her legs pinned underneath a large chunk of debris from the base. Her breathing was heavily hindered and dawdling, but she was still alive. Her staff was no more than mere splinters that were scattered around her head. Her silver hair was bloodied, though not from her. It was Yuan's blood that ruined her hair, from a wound that was the direct fault of a blade sheathed through his shoulder and into the wall he was pinned too. The Swallow was in two pieces, lying to his left. He could feel himself still breathing, but for the life of him didn't have the energy to even lift his head from where Raine was lying. He was staring worriedly at her, and she was staring horrified at him.

Yuan's eyes slammed shut and he himself let out another brutal scream of pain came as the other Eternia Blade was driven into and through his other shoulder, pinning his body to the wall. When his eyes did open, he saw Raine silently crying at the treatment of the fellow half-elf. Suddenly, his view was torn from Raine, and forced into Mithos' blue eyes as the fallen hero took a handful of the blue hair in his hand and dragged his head up.

"I'll end the pain Yuan…for my old friend. Just beg me for forgiveness."

"Go…to hell!" Yuan spat out. Mithos gave him a disapproving scowl, seconds before he drove the back of his head into the wall. A grunt of numbed pain escaped Yuan's lips as the impact rattled his consciousness ruthlessly.

"Leave him alone!" Raine called on impulse. Mithos' hand left Yuan, letting his bloodied head fall back to where he had it before, once again locking onto Raine's eyes. Raine could see clouds forming with Yuan's eyes and see the color fade from his face. Her attention turned to Mithos, who had drawn the Eternal Sword again and stood so he was over Raine's prone body. He pointed the sword down at Raine's neck, alarming the healer greatly. Her eyes opened in horror as she saw the sword position itself at her tender neck. She looked up at Mithos' face, disgusted at how much like Lloyd he still looked. Slowly, Mithos turned his head to Yuan, who had forced his head up to stare back at Mithos. Mithos could see the defeat in his eyes.

"Don't…hurt her!" Yuan forced out, tears rolling down his cheek. "Please…" Even the barely conscious Raine could here his agony as the words left his mouth. "…Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion…I beg your forgiveness." Yuan's head dropped again, the last shred of dignity drawn and impaled in front of him. "I beg of you…" He was surprised to hear the sword sheathed in it's actual sheath instead of in Raine's neck, and once more forced his head to look up at the evil that stood before him. Without remorse, Mithos pulled the two blades free, allowing Yuan to crumple to the ground in a heap, his body resting onto Raine's, his bloodied face landing on the ground just beside her face. Spinning each sword sharply, Yuan's blood was whipped from each blade before they were sheathed away. Kneeling down, Mithos grabbed a handful of Yuan's hair and twisted it, forcing his head up from beside Raine's briefly.

"I'll never forgive you Yuan. As far as I am concerned, you are as much to blame for Martel's death as the humans and elves!" He smiled as he saw the pain reflect itself with Yuan's eyes. "Kratos is coming…I can feel him. We can feel him." Mithos stated viciously, petting Yuan degradingly. "You can thank him for your life. But I promise you Yuan, this is far from over. In fact…this is all just beginning. Together…Lloyd and I will turn Symphonia into a true paradise, free of discrimination and emotions! And nothing can stop me!" With that, he let Yuan's head fall beside Raine's head. Stretching his massive white wings out, Mithos flew off into the sky, fleeing from the scene.

"Yuan…" Raine muttered, her ears twitching as she heard Yuan sorrowfully weeping. With what might have very well been the last of her usable energy, she wrapped her arms around the fellow half-elf, comforting him as he wept bitterly into the ground. "I'm…sorry." She muttered, before passing out.

A handful of minutes in the future, Kratos and Zelos landed on the ground beside them. Raine was unconscious, but Kratos could see Yuan still with them. Quickly, the two used their healing skills to stop any bleeding they could, but they were no match for Raine's healing ability. Kratos, kneeling beside Yuan, shook him gently. Slightly rejuvenated by the healing, Yuan lifted his still weeping head to face Kratos. He couldn't hear a word he had said, but he knew what Kratos was asking. Slowly, Yuan mouthed two words that struck a newfound sense of horror into Kratos' heart. The words were "Mithos' back", and it was the last two things the blue haired half-elf could say before passing out from blood loss.

"Kratos…what the hell happened." Zelos muttered as he pushed the debris from off Raine's legs. When he glanced to Kratos, he saw the usually composed warrior staring completely wide eyed at the ground. "Kratos?"

"It's Mithos…Zelos…He's returned." Kratos muttered, looking at Zelos. "Somehow…Mithos Yggdrasill has returned."

For the longest time, there was nothing but silence. Kratos picked up Yuan, tossing him over his shoulder while Zelos did the same to Raine. As the two lifted off, Zelos turned his head to Kratos, his face the picture of grimness. "Symphonia is in danger isn't it?"

"More than we could imagine Zelos."

* * *

_**Act 1 Fin

* * *

**_

A/N: No cliffhangers, just a couple of nearly dead half-elves, a bit more revealed on the Aeon Jewel, and more importantly than all of that is the fact that Lloyd wants this to happen…according to Mithos. Is he lying? Who knows? What will happen now that Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion is here? And more importantly than all of that…is Lloyd gone forever? Find out when Act 2: The Almighty Aeon Jewel, begins three weeks from now. Until mid-April, check out Beneath the Surface if you get the chance, or keep an eye out for any one-shots I might do. Peace


	11. Act 2 C1: The Aftermath: Yuan and Raine

**Insaneiac: If this is late, it's due to a malfunction in my wireless connection, but never the less, here it comes. Act 2. Questions have been asked, friends have been lost, and lines have been drawn. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel, or is the world doomed. And further more, what power does the Aeon Jewel truly have. **

Disclaimer: Nothing owned by Namco is mine…ergo all I own is the idea behind the Aeon Jewel and the plot.

* * *

"Tell me about this thing Mithos…what is it?"

"What do you want to know? The powers…the curses…the hatred it entails…the abilities it bestows?"

"Tell me why it exists…why it must exist."

"Heh…very good. You see the first wall then, is not that it exists…but that we accept its existence."

"You haven't answered my question."

"Because it is a question that can't be answered by words…only actions."

-------------------

"I want to help him…Raine…I need to help him!"

"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

"Why would you care? He's not your brother or your family…why do you care?"

"Because, I love him. I refuse to let him suffer."

"…What makes you think he is suffering right now?"

"You can't tell me he enjoys being that bastard's puppet!"

-------------------

"You only want to help your son, yet he doesn't want your help Kratos."

"Then what…"

"He wants mine…he wants the help that only I can give him."

"Help! You call this help? All you are doing is killing the people he loves, isolating him from the world! HOW IS THAT HELP?"

"Because Kratos…Lloyd is just like me…truly alone."

-------------------

"The birthplace of this legend…the place where the Aeon Jewel was first forged."

"Yuan…what are you…"

"The original home and creation center…the place that sent us the information to begin with. Dear Goddess…it actually exists."

"Yuan…what the hell are you talking about?"

"…Thor…"

_**It is called an Aeon Jewel**_

**_It has been called a Godstone_**

**_It is the true Key to Power_**

**_Purest Unbound Hatred_**

**_Truest Eternal Love_**

_**This is truly the power of the Gods we fall at.**_

_**This is truly the power of the Demons we fear.**_

**_This is truly the power of the Universe embodied._**

**_This is the true Key to Power_**

_**This is the ominous Godstone**_

_**This is the Almighty Aeon Jewel**_

_**-----------------**_

_**Faraway Promises: Act Two: The Almighty Aeon Jewel**_

_**------------------------------**_

_**Chapter 1: The Aftermath: Raine and Yuan

* * *

**_

In a mighty and seemingly endless field of grass and wildflowers, underneath a large willow tree, and in what seemed to be the dead of night, slept Yuan. He slept peacefully and without a care, letting the nature of the place ensnare and enrapture him. Slowly, a woman with an oak staff approached the sleeping half elf, each step causing a wave amdist the tall grass. When she finally reached the sleeping man, she thumped the end of her staff against the ground beside his head, and stared down at him. Slowly, a smile formed on her soft lips.

"Wake up silly." The woman spoke softly, stirring the blue haired man as he lay sleeping. A few small movements were all it gained though. He felt a foot start jabbing into his side, causing him to twitch and turn in the idea that if he moved the foot would go away. "Comon Yuan! You can't let the world just rot! Let's go!" The woman spoke again, as she gently kicked him a few more times.

"…The world will be here in a few more minutes…lemme sleep." Yuan slurred out in a tired, sloppy voice. Had the woman attempting to wake him been any other woman, she would have considered him drunk. Even his other two former companions might have thought the same. In essence, Yuan was simply feeling tired and lazy. When he felt the foot nudge him yet again, he began to try and mentally will away the mysteriously cheerful sounding Raine. Another nudge finally drew a new response from Yuan, following a long and woe-some sigh. "Go away Raine…I want to sleep…I need to sleep."

"Yuan, Raine wants you…she needs you." The voice responded. Confused at the response, Yuan's eyes fluttered open to see a woman standing above him, staring down at him analytically. Although he tried with everything in his might to make out the face, it was obscured by both his not-yet-awake eyes and all of her long green hair. Again, his mind was dealt another blow of curiosity. It was pitch black where he was, yet light seem to emanate from Raine.

"Raine…when did you get green hair…" Yuan muttered, as the woman kneeled at his side. Yuan's eyes opened as wide as plates when he finally saw her face. "Ma…MARTEL!" Yuan yelled, his bottom lip quivering in surprise. When the woman smiled in response, Yuan tried to wrap his arms around her, only to feel her press a hand against his chest and hold him down. It was at that time that he saw the sorrow that filled her eyes completely. It was enough to bring him down a couple notches on the happiness ladder, back to where he was when she died in Mithos' arms. Here was the woman he loved more than anything in the world, and yet she looked like she was about to cry.

"Yuan…my love. I know you mourn my death endlessly. I know." Martel muttered, bringing the hand off of Yuan's chest and lightly grabbing his hand. "But you've lived four thousand years, blaming yourself. There is no fault of this inside you Yuan. Please, do not continue hurting yourself in payment over what happened to me."

"Martel…I can't." Yuan muttered as he lay on the ground, tightly holding Martel's hand. It had been millennia since he last held her hand, and he missed it too much to just let it go. "I could have leapt into the way, or struck him down then and there…but I didn't."

"Yuan…you were different then. You were innocent, far more than you are now. You've grown cold…lonely." Martel spoke. Her words will as soft as could be, but each seemed to take another chunk of Yuan's life as she spoke them. "Yuan. It hurts me so much to see you suffer so. So I want…no…I beg of you a favor Yuan. Consider it my truest final request to you, my love."

"What do you want of me then? Ask me anything and I promise you I'll do it Martel. Whatever it is you ask."

Martel remained silent for a moment, lowering her head to Yuan's, and gently kissing his lips. The two closed their eyes as the moment began far too slowly, and opened them when it ended far too quickly. "Let me go. I'm dead Yuan…I'm part of Mana herself now." Rubbing her free hand along his face, Martel gave Yuan the warmest smile she could, gazing deeply into his eyes as she stroked his cheek. "I loved you then Yuan, and I still do…but you are too kind a person…to beautiful a soul…to continue torturing yourself over this endlessly." She could see the tears forming in his eyes as she spoke, knowing all too well that this was something she had to do.

"But Martel..."

"Yuan, I'm gone now and forever. Fall in love anew Yuan, please. Nothing would make me happier than to see you love again." Martel spoke one last time as she stood up, and began back away. Yuan tried to push to his feet, tried to go after her, but he could not. His mind was willing, fiercely willing even, but his body would not budge. She took two more steps backwards before turning her body away and continuing, stopping only to turn her head towards Yuan. All he could do was lie there and stare at her, silently crying as she crept away, each step drawing out more and more silent tears.

"I'll always love you Yuan, but our time is over. Yet you can still find happiness, still find love. I died four thousand years ago, and you haven't let a day go by without hurting yourself because of it. Now you can let it go and start anew. If you love me Yuan…if you truly love me…then let me go and find new love. Please." Martel finished, a small tear rolling down her left cheek. With her final message out, Martel turned and fled, quickly speeding from Yuan's vision. He never screamed out her name, which caused him to cry even harder. He had very simply let her fade away, back into the echoing emptiness that was his happy memories. Finally, Yuan began to push up, trying to sit up. He was trying to get up to his feet and give chase. To chase after her into the encompassing shadows that surrounded him.

That was when he felt something different. Propping open one eye, albeit slowly, he saw a bountiful amount of silver hair resting on him. Taking a very quick pair of blinks to try and clear up the image, Yuan found himself in a rather comfortable bed, with thick covers that rested up to just above his chest. On his stomach rested the aforementioned head of silver hair, seemingly asleep. Upon simply moving arm to try and wake her up, he found himself in a miserable amount of pain. He didn't grunt or yell or scream like anyone normal would have, he just silently tossed about in agony…without the tossing. Upon further inspection of the room, he could see a few candles along the dresser, very slightly lighting the room. With his hand finally free, he gently ran a hand through Raine's hair, his mind absolutely lost to why she was in here with him.

"She's been sitting there for the better part of three days Yuan." A mature voice spoke. Yuan shifted his head to where the voice had come from and barely saw Kratos standing by the door, nodding his head towards Raine. "She's slept beside you, took care of you, healed you…" Yuan's attention turned to the sleeping half-elf, a fairly stunned look resting behind his solid eyes. Not many would have been able to make it out, but then again Kratos was unlike many people. "She refused to leave your side for three days."

"…Why?" Yuan muttered, turning his head to Kratos.

"I'm sure she is going to say it was because you saved her life…but I have a feeling that that is not the honest case." Kratos enounced, turning to the door.

"Wait." Yuan spoke, his voice a little louder than usually. He felt Raine stir on his stomach as his voice reached her ears, causing her to move a little bit before going back to sleep. "Kratos…I'm sor-"

"Yuan, we will speak later." When Kratos turned around, his eyes were deathly cold and brutally unforgiving. "Allow me to very simply end this by saying, our friendship has taken many bumps along the way…but this time I doubt its ability to recover fully." Yuan flinched at the hidden acid within his voice, before he marched out of the door, closing it with authority. Yuan's head fell back onto the pillows as he felt the silence overtake him again. Aside from the steady, almost rhythmic breathing of Raine, Yuan was encased in a box of silence.

"Sheena…she'll probably try and kill me…" Yuan muttered to himself, pulling a hand to his head and rubbing his temples. "That little brat Genis too…even Colette will be angry. I'll be lucky if one of them doesn't finish the job Llo-" Yuan began, pausing as he felt the boy's name begin to leave his lips. "…Mithos…You bastard." Yuan growled. "I knew you were insane, even tyrannical, but I never doubted that you had a limit. Even I thought there was still some good left in you. How…how could you do that to Lloyd? To manipulate his emotions so you could take over…what kind of sick bastard are you…and why does Martel care so much about you." Yuan muttered into the air, his voice picking up in tempo as he went along.

Which is why it surprised Yuan severely when he felt a surprisingly warm hand grasp his, causing his head to shoot up. He came face to face with a slowly awakening Raine, who even though probably didn't know what continent she was on at that point, was wearing a warm and reassuring smile that seemed to calm Yuan a great deal. For a moment, Yuan was completely and totally motionless as he watched the half-elf wake up. It struck him in a weak spot when he realized that he was doing the very same thing he used to do to Martel. He was watching Raine, one of the pushiest, most stubborn and infuriating women on the face of Symphonia awakening. It further surprised him when he realized that she seemed to wake in a very similar method to Martel, scratching her head slowly before swiping any hair out of her eyes and then rubbing each eye, first the left one and then the right one.

"Yuan…you're okay!" Raine spoke rather sloppily, frowning as she realized her mouth wasn't quite awake yet. "You…are okay right?" Even in the low light, Yuan could clearly see the concern that raged like a bonfire within her eyes. It hurt him that she cared so much about him.

"Why Raine?" Yuan asked, even before he realized he said anything. The odd look that formed on Raine's face prompted him to speak on. He felt her hand leave his, something that caused him to feel a little depressed. After one good shake of his head, and a sharply sucked in breath of air when he realized that shaking his head hurt like hell, Yuan continued.

"Why did you take care of me?"

"Why did you attempt to offer yourself in exchange for me when…" Raine trailed off, turning her head to the side. She couldn't ever say his name anymore. "I couldn't just abandon you Yuan. Even though you are probably the single pushiest, most stubborn and infuriating man on the face of Symphonia." Raine muttered. She didn't see the smile that filled his face, but she could tell he was smiling none the less. "I'm sorry Yuan."

"What are you apologizing for Raine? In the course of roughly four days, I drug the savoir of the world, turn him into the freak that originally split the words asunder, and got you almost killed, twice. Not only that, but I'm fairly sure that the instant I step out of this room, any one of Lloyd's former companions will try and slaughter me…" Yuan recounted before he pushed up on the bed, getting into a sitting position. Yuan prided himself on being very tolerant with pain, and even though moving felt like he was tearing a limb off, he showed very little pain registration on his face. "…Even Kratos seems to hate me now. I mean, I've tried to kill him, I've used his son against him, I've done everything bad a person could do to him and he still remained my friend. But now…" Raine could hear Yuan's voice change as it went on. Like a child who began to realize something was hurting, Yuan began to lose control of himself, spiraling downwards as his mind jumped from scene to scene.

"Yuan…"

"I brought back the one person that I tried my hardest to eliminate over the thousands of years I've lived. I did everything in my power Raine to stop that madman from destroying the worlds. And then…within four days time…I undo four thousand years of hard work and bring Mithos back into this world." Yuan sulked, tightly grabbing the covers of his blanket to try and distract himself from crying, almost as though he was about to tear the cover in half. "I ruined my best friend's son's life, I doomed the planet again, I failed Martel…I'm useless Raine." Raine remained lead-faced as Yuan continued to get louder and louder. "I did everything I could to stop him, and yet in the end…after he was killed and beaten…I open the door for his return and roll out the damned red carpet. Mithos is right…I'm pathetic." Yuan finished, locking eyes with Raine. Seconds later, skin met skin as Raine slapped the flavor out of Yuan's mouth, the sound loud enough to wake the dead.

Yuan prided himself on an incredible level of tolerance for pain. The moment Raine slapped him, though, she could see that she had hurt him very much so. He didn't hide it at all, nor did he make even the slightest attempt to mask it. Slowly, Yuan turned his head back to face Raine, his bottom lip quivering as he made eye contact.

"Yuan…stop feeling so damned sorry for yourself." Raine spoke, her words harsh, sharp and very true. "True, you may have drugged him, but that is where your fault ends. The rest we can blame on Mithos and Lloyd." Raine replied strongly. "Mithos for doing whatever he had to do to get free and Lloyd for not being strong enough to defeat Mithos." Yuan sighed, about to let his head drop away when a hand rested itself underneath his chin, keeping him in eye contact with Raine. Although it was softly keeping his head in place, the hand itself was motionless and unmoving. "And you are not pathetic."

"I'd really like to see you give that speech to his friends."

"Like it or not, I am still the mayor of this town. If they have a problem with it, they'll deal with me." Raine spoke, her words very sharp and very swift. "And I can be a whole world scarier than any pink wearing swordsman, or any violent summoner."

"Why do you care Raine?" Yuan spoke, still slightly offset in tone. He was well aware that he just about shattered the old image he used to have. The tough-as-nails, unbreakable and down right strong Yuan had been pushed aside from an emotional and depressing shell. "What is it about me that you actually give half a damn about?" Yuan half spoke, half sobbed.

Raine's steady face faded back into a comforting smile as she took her hand from his chin. "Yuan, Mithos was about to kill me. You were willing to sacrifice yourself and your pride to keep me alive, and I know that had to be the single most painful thing you could have ever done." Raine replied, sighing deeply. "I owe you my life Yuan…"

"Raine, you owe me nothing." Yuan shot back, his soft eyes suddenly rock hard. It slightly shocked the eldest Sage, who in turned, rested a hand on the side of his face. She had expected him to pull away from it, but instead he let it rest against his face, finding comfort in its warmth.

"Why are you so afraid of anyone trying to get close to you?" Raine asked, Yuan's head turning away and breaking eye contact. This time, Raine made no attempt to move his head back, letting her hand drop away from the half-elf male. "Yuan." Raine muttered, before standing up. She might have gotten one step in before she felt her hand get grabbed. Raine spun around and looked at Yuan, who had his hand wrapped around her's.

"Raine…Thank you." Yuan muttered chokingly at best. A long sigh escaped him before he continued. "I mean that Raine…thank you." And with that, his hand slipped from her's, and Yuan rolled over onto his back.

"Yuan?"

A small exhalation of breath made its way past Yuan's lips, though not one of impatience or depression. "Yes Raine?"

"I'm sorry I got you hurt so badly…I never meant to get in the way." Raine muttered, her voice dropping considerably in tone.

"Raine…I'm fairly certain that if you had not helped, I would be a dead man right now. I think if anything Raine…I owe you my life just as much as you owe me yours."

"I'm guessing you want to call it even then?" Raine replied. She grinned when she heard Yuan chuckle slightly, though it sounded like he was killing himself by doing so.

"Let's just leave it at we owe each other our lives…it has a much more dramatic ring to it." Yuan finished, glancing at Raine. For a brief moment, the two froze in time and simply stared at the other. Five days ago, it seemed unlikely that either of them would have even given the time of day to the other. Now, however, both of them were smiling at the other and, although neither of the two knew it thanks to the poor lighting of the room, blushing quite potently. Finally, Raine turned to face the door and opening it. Moving her head to gaze back at Yuan, Raine watched him turn over. A final smile and a single tear later, and Raine had shut the door, leaving Yuan to himself and his own thoughts.

"…I won't let Mithos do this…not to Lloyd." Yuan growled, as he very slowly took the cover off himself and swung his legs over. "I don't care how much I have to work…I am not letting Mithos do this."

Yuan sucked in his breath as he felt loads of pain tear through his body. He was angelic though, so he'd heal quickly. Chances are, must of it was just stiffness that would wear off from walking. Shaking his head, Yuan raised a clenched fist into the air, holding it beside his face.

"For Martel's sake…and Raine's."

* * *

A/N: And so, we see the second seeds of romance slowly begin to bloom. Yes, that is right folks. Anyways, the second chapter is not going to be as warm as this one, with plenty of anger directed towards Yuan. Also, keep those small exchanges of dialogue close by, as each is a very potent piece of stages to come. I won't say much, but I will say this. By the fifth chapter of Act 2, one of the original eight saviors' lives is going to be completely and totally tossed onto its head. Peace. 


	12. Chapter 2: The Aftermath: Sheena

**Insaneiac: Now then, since we saw how happy Yuan was…or wasn't…we'll turn our attention to the other characters, more importantly, the female lead in this story. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia…at all. NAMCO does

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Chapter 2: The Aftermath: Sheena

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_------Two Days Ago ------_

"_Kratos…Oh my God! What happened? Why is Yuan bleeding! Why is Raine bleeding?" Sheena yelled, as he watched Kratos and Zelos bring back a pair of barely recognizable half-elves who looked like they had been tortured and beat for sport. Sheena wasn't even sure if Yuan was breathing, and even if he was it was not strong breaths. Raine was in no better condition that he, only she didn't look like she had been turned into a sword version of a pin cushion. When she tried to look into Kratos' eyes, he turned away and avoided her gaze. Charging towards Kratos, Sheena grabbed at the back of his outfit, trying to stop him from moving on. _

"_What the hell happened Kratos?" Sheena yelled, shaking the ancient swordsman. He never turned around, never gazed back at her, despite all of her attempts to get him too. "Where's Lloyd?" As soon as she uttered those words, she could literally feel him sink emotionally. "WHAT HAPPENED?" Sheena yelled, shaking him as hard as she could._

"_Sheena." Zelos muttered, resting a hand on her shoulder. As if his hand was a key and her arms a pair of locks, they fell from Kratos and allowed him to keep going. Turning to Zelos, Sheena fought the tears that seemed poised to pour through her eyes. "…Lloyd…"_

"_Zelos please…where's Lloyd? What happened? Tell me!" Sheena yelled, grabbing a hold of Zelos. She knew people were stumbling towards them to see the mess, to see their fabled mayor bloodied and beaten nearly to death. She knew eventually Colette would come aside and either take Raine into her house, or try and take Sheena aside. She knew all she was doing was interfering with Raine's healing, but she needed to know. Despite the fact that even Zelos seemed to be in sunken spirits, Sheena needed to know where Lloyd was._

"…_He wasn't there. As far as I could tell, Lloyd wasn't there at all." Zelos replied, before pushing past Sheena and leaving her amidst the crowd of people as he took Raine to her house. She took a single half step back, waiting for the door to close behind Zelos before she fled to a spot where she could be alone._

_------ Present Day ------_

"Still no word…" Sheena muttered silently, perched upon the gate into Iselia. Kratos had left Iselia roughly an hour ago to collect some things, but she didn't pay too much attention to what he said those things were. Like the past two days, he avoided her questions like a scared mouse would avoid a cat. Whenever she even mentioned Lloyd's name near Kratos, he turned and practically fled. Needless to say, all it did was make Sheena more fearful and more depressed. Kratos had said one thing to her though, something that burned itself into her soul.

"_Do not, under any circumstances, leave Iselia. At all. Even if one of your village people demands it, I forbid you to leave." Kratos spoke solidly. When Sheena tried to fight him, Kratos shook his head twice and shot her the fiercest glare she had even seen. "Sheena, I am not asking. I'm telling you right now. Do not leave this village. Not until I return at the very least." _

Why she was listening to a man who by all accounts had no relation to her was beyond her comprehension. Maybe it was the fact that when she glanced into his stone cold eyes, she saw something more than anger and intensity. Kratos Aurion was very good at never showing anything he didn't want people to see on surface level. That meant hiding emotions that tried to show themselves within his eyes. However, in that glare she saw a part of him that was alive and rampant with fear and misery. If something was enough to cause the mighty Kratos to be afraid, than it was a good enough reason for Sheena to follow his words, her anger at doing so aside. Which meant she was stuck within the confines of Iselia while Lloyd was missing or worse. More than anything in the world, she wanted to be looking for Lloyd. Even when Yuan had kidnapped him, Sheena had to fight the urge to burst through the front door with Origin at her left and Celsius at her left and rescue Lloyd in the most heroic fashion she could possibly think of. Another side of her wanted to sneak in as a member of the renegades and expertly execute a stealthy and incredibly tactical extraction mission.

Yet she at least knew that Lloyd was in relatively safe hands for the most part. However, now she didn't even know if the closest friend she ever had was even still breathing the same air she was. No one would tell her anything. Zelos did everything he could to escape her eyesight, even going so far as to stab himself in the foot and sneak off. Somehow he had gotten away with it too. Inwardly, Sheena blamed Colette for being too trusting of Zelos. Then again, in all reality, Colette was smitten with the former chosen of Tethe'alla. She didn't know whether it was the fact that they were both the chosen, that he had been there to get rid of Martel, or if she was just falling into the same trap she herself fell into.

Colette acted like nothing had changed, which scared her. Either Colette was wearing one of the strongest emotional facades ever created, or she was just as in the dark as herself, only blissfully unaware that anything bad could have even happened to Lloyd. Sheena wanted to simply discount Colette and believe she knew nothing, but she knew she couldn't. Despite the seemingly "airhead" image she gave off, Colette was by far one of the most intelligent people she knew. Not smart, like Genis was, but intelligent. She could read people like books without even showing a hint of doing so.

Raine had been locked in her house since she recovered. She might have exchanged all of three words with Zelos before rushing into her home and seemingly closing herself away. Either she was completely and utterly traumatized by what happened at the Renegade base, or she was watching after Yuan. Either way, Raine was in no condition to tell her anything.

That left Yuan.

A small pebble bounced off the back of Sheena's head, causing the Mizuhoan ninja to twist around and face the direction of the mini projectile. Tossing a few pebbles in his hand was a fragile looking Yuan. At least, she thought it was Yuan. He wasn't wearing his usual outfit as it seems, but rather a pair of white pants and a blue shirt. His hair was also disorganized and completely loosed, covering more of his face than usual. She had just about the time to cock her left eyebrow before realizing that his face was totally and completely stoic. With nothing more than a quick nod, and a few nudges of his head towards a path that ran through the forest, Yuan hobbled off. She watched Yuan, the prideful and strong and completely unbreakable Yuan stumble off down the indicated path, sparing herself enough time to take a deep breath before pushing off of the gate and following suit. If anything at all, she could use the time to ask Yuan a few questions.

She followed Yuan for what seemed like a small hike in complete silence before he finally settled down, picking a private clearing beside a small brook as a stopping place. She watched the half-elf lay down on the grass, staring up at the sky and never uttering more than a grunt or two as he laid himself down. She paused for a moment, looking around the area and mentally marking down her surroundings, when she soon discovered that she was alone with the person that kidnapped Lloyd. At the very least, she could kill him and toss him into the brook.

"And I'm guessing that you're thinking about killing me and throwing me into that brook, aren't you?" Yuan spoke, startling the young ninja. Sheena had managed to take a single step back before Yuan raised a hand into the air and wagged his finger at her. "Let me talk first, and then you can do what you like. At the very least, I'd greatly prefer you killing me over Kratos."

"What?"

Yuan, with great effort and pain, forced himself into a sitting position, grunting and groaning as parts of his body seemed to betray him, causing him more pain with every movement. Sheena watched him carefully, not quite sure what to feel at that current point in time. Giving her head a small tilt, Sheena sat herself down across from Yuan, who brushed some of his hair aside and out of his eyes. Taking a moment to rearrange his thoughts, Yuan chucked one of the few pebbles in his hand into the water, lowering his head for a very brief moment before gazing at Sheena.

"Okay, ask away." Yuan started, tossing a pebble up and down in his hand.

"Why did you kidnap Lloyd?"

"Heh." Yuan opened, agitating Sheena considerably. "I didn't kidnap him. He agreed to it."

"Then why wouldn't he tell me."

"Partly because after he accepted my offer, I punched him in the face." Yuan retorted, speaking as though it were common knowledge. This, along with its delivery, visibly set Sheena aback. "The Renegade base is…well it was supposed to remain hidden this time, so I couldn't very well let just anyone into it, you know? At least not while they are conscious and all." Sheena, albeit quite un-amused, nodded along with the explanation.

"So…Lloyd would just up and leave so you could check out his exsphere?" Sheena replied dryly, loosing a dull glare at Yuan.

A small splash was the next sound to fill the silent area, slightly taking her attention from Yuan to the brook. Giving his head a quick and solid shake, Yuan grunted in pain as he felt his neck roar alive with pain. He made a mental note to never do that again before continuing on with his long overdue explanation.

"Even Angels take time to heal." Yuan muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "There is more to it than just that Sheena. Which is why much of this concerns you more than anyone else in this…hell…on this world." Yuan tossed the last of his pebbles into the brook before leaning forward, his face never once faltering from the serious persona he embodied so well. "I tried to help Lloyd just as much as I tried to research that exsphere of his. A fair exchange if you will."

"How?" Sheena inquired, tilting her head slightly. For a very brief moment, Yuan's features relaxed a bit, just long enough for Sheena to see a softer side to the half elf before they hardened again.

"Kratos drugged me in the middle of our journey those four long millennia ago. It was a special drug that caused very potent hallucinations that represented your truest emotions. Those of course being pure hatred and true love. He helped me to realize my feelings for Martel that way." Yuan began, rotating his hand in the air beside him. "Four thousand years later, I try and help Lloyd do the same. Only this time I placed him into a hibernation chamber. The problem I faced was that my hallucinations, though real feeling, were not tangible." Yuan started, pausing and looking at Sheena, who nodded once. "I believe that in a sleep state, these hallucinations would feel completely real. And that they did. It also provided me a way to scan and study his exsphere while it reacted to the reality Lloyd lived in that dream state."

"Did he mention who those feelings were for?" Sheena sheepishly inquired, pressing her index fingers together.

"I think we both know the answer to that." Yuan grumbled. "So essentially, I drugged your companion." A long sigh escaped Yuan's lips, causing him to hunch over. Sheena assumed it was because of the pain he must have been feeling, but Yuan knew all too well why he was hunched over. "Only I made a mistake. A very foolish mistake. One that has cost me a very close friend, and part of myself in the process. A mistake I will more than likely spend the rest of my eternal life dwelling over."

"…What happened to Lloyd?" Sheena asked suddenly, her softer features tensed up. When she saw Yuan hunch over a little more, she darted forward and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. Yuan let out a small yelp of pain as he hands slapped hard into where Mithos had embedded his swords, looking up slowly at Sheena as the pain passed.

"Lloyd's exsphere was morphed after the final battle against Mithos. I couldn't understand why or what did it, not in the slightest. Not until I heard Raine explain it to me. Before I could do anything though, it was too late." Yuan continued, never really indicating what happened. Another fierce shake from Sheena brought his arms up in his own defense, pushing the ninja off of him and onto her butt. "Mithos didn't die at that battle! His Cruxis Crystal was absorbed into Lloyd's exsphere. This in turned formed something called the Aeon Jewel."

"A what?"

"It's also known as a Godstone. It is capable of giving its wearer the powers of a God. Time, space, life, death…this stone gives the user the ability to transcend past these. He or she becomes an immortal and completely unstoppable figure. By the time I realized anything, it had begun to awake. I stopped it before it fully awoke but…"

A gust of wind swept into the clearing, the grass around them bending towards the direction the wind blew. The brief interlude of nature scatted Yuan's hair back into disarray, covering half his face. Once more, Yuan pushed his hair out of his eyes, before gazing into Sheena's. He could see the fear, hatred, sorrow, and confusion all building up within her. Soon, only three of those would exist. The other would be overshadowed by the big three.

"What Lloyd saw in the vision…in that reality wasn't what was intended. He was supposed to have proclaimed his love for you in his dream before the drug's effects ended. That's how it works. This time though, what he watched was, at least according to him… you being killed by his best friends." Yuan muttered, struggling to avert his eyes from Sheena. Her lips, her arms, her entire body began to tremble in response to his statement. Sheena was beginning to see where this was going, despite the fact the she refused to believe it. "Lloyd watched you die, and then he did something I never thought I'd ever see an Aurion do." Yuan muttered as his voice became whisper weak. He coughed a few times, groaning in pain as the tremors caused by each cough rattled his damaged body.

"Where…" Sheena tried, getting as far as that word before her voice failed her. He hands bunched into fists as she tried to find words to put to her feelings. Giving her head a quick shake, she tried again, only to find herself completely unable to even speak. In frustration, she drove her fist into the ground in the hope the pain she might cause herself would give her the ability to speak. All it truly did was increase her inability to express herself and further cause her to slip into a state of grief.

"Lloyd has, at least according to him, given himself completely to..." Yuan began, straining as he reached the name he dreaded. "…Mithos." As if magic, the very word brought upon them a cloud of vengeful silence that threatened to suffocate the life out of both of them. Sheena started out slowly, her head slowly and very barely shaking left and right before she began tossing her head left and right like a madman.

"No! NO! Lloyd…LLOYD WOULDN'T DO THAT!" Sheena yelled, standing up in the process. Ceasing with her shakes, she glared at Yuan fiercely, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "You're lying! You have to be lying! Lloyd wouldn't…he…" Her voice was beginning to fail her as it all slowly but surely washed over her.

"Sheena, ask me when Martel was still alive if I ever thought Mithos would turn into _this_! Back then, Mithos was the exact same as Lloyd, a perfect idealist, innocent to the core. He watched his sister die Sheena. That's brotherly love. Strong, but not as strong as truest love is. And that loss turned him into the monster that you people fought against. Lloyd watched you die in front of him. That kind of loss is enough to cause a man to do different things. To Kratos, he gave up on life and became a faithful servant to Mithos. He retained some of himself, but he was dead inside for far too long. Lloyd though…Lloyd would be devastated, lost and, more than anything, completely betrayed. To him, a world without you is a world of hell. Mithos resided inside of Lloyd by his exsphere…and when Lloyd finally sna-" Yuan got no further as, for the second time that day, his face was slapped. However, unlike Raine who had demonstrated some degree of control, Sheena went for broke. The slap was strong enough to knock Yuan to the ground, causing him to cry out in pain.

"You bastard…" Sheena began, fighting tears with rage. "…You…you took the sweetest man I've ever known…AND YOU TURNED HIM INTO A MONSTER!" Sheena screamed, grabbing Yuan by the collar of his shirt and yanking him back up off the ground only to backhand him moments later. "Lloyd…how could you do that to Lloyd?"

Yuan spat out to his side, blood mixed with his spit. Despite the fact that each slap felt like getting a dropkick from a giant in his current condition, nothing hurt quite as much as the fact that he agreed with her. No matter how much he wanted to defend himself, she was absolutely right in every account.

"Sheena…I'll fix this." Yuan muttered, before he felt himself get yanked back up. He might have seen two seconds of the rage and hate and sorrow that burned furiously within Sheena's eyes before her fist caught him clean on the left of his jaw, knocking him back quite a bit and bruising her hand in the process. Yuan landed with another grunt of pain, this time refusing to even try and get back to a sitting position.

"Because of you…Lloyd is Mithos' puppet. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIX THAT?" Sheena screamed. Even though she felt like killing and maiming more than anything else, tears began to stream down her cheeks. "The fact that the man I love…that I wanted to be with more than anyone on this planet, is now the man that tried to turn me into him…that raped my mind and tried to leave me a broken shell…" Sheena choked out, her hands trembling at her sides. "Why couldn't you have just left him alone Yuan…You didn't need him for anything more…you could have just let him be." Sheena choked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I don't expect you to ever respect or even talk to me after this Sheena. I don't want pity; I deserve your hate and your anger. I'm just telling you now…" Yuan muttered whilst his body screamed in merciless and unforgiving pain. "…I won't rest until you have Lloyd back. I don't care what it takes, what cost I have to pay…I will bring Lloyd back." He could hear Sheena take a single step towards him, before turning around entirely and running. He didn't try and get up and watch her leave, or attempt to give any chase after the distraught woman. _'I should be hung...'_ Left to his thoughts, Yuan closed his eyes as he stretched out on the grass, left alone to his guilt and his determination.

------ Colette's Secret Place ------

For Sheena, crying was something she was both used to and foreign to at the very same time. She had spent most of her childhood hidden inside a little corner of her grandfather's house, more often than not in tears. She would spend hours at a time crying, stopping only briefly when she felt like anymore crying would kill her. That usually lasted until she ventured out of her home, and was verbally or even physically attacked. Then she would scatter back to her hiding place and weep. Over the years, Orochi and Kuchinawa had taken that weak, tearful girl and turned her into something to be proud of though, and she soon found her tears faded away for a tough outer shell and a pair of tearless eyes. Sure, there had been points where she would crack under the pressure. When Corrine died in her arms and left her, she cried while Lloyd kept her company and comforted her. When Lloyd was recovering from the brief encounter with Kuchinawa's poison, forced to experience vivid nightmares that caused him to sweat and moan and cry, she wept for him. When she was freed of Mithos' control, she wept openly on Lloyd for what felt like an hour.

This time, however, it felt so much more powerful than before. Each moment she fought the tears, they seemed to double in strength. Every time she tried to think of something else, she remembered something about Lloyd that drove her nearly mad. From his strong ideals to his soft eyes to his goofy smile. It was like torture. Brutal, relentless, never ending torture.

"Lloyd…" Sheena muttered, attacking her tears with her arm. "I'm not dead…I'm right here." It came out as more of a whisper than what she truly intended it to be. At that very point, she felt totally and completely helpless, unable to do anything more than cry like the damsel in distress does in all of those fairy tales. In between choked sobs, she drove her fist into the log she sat on top of, well aware that all she was doing was messing her hand up further. It didn't really matter to her at that point, what with her closest companion on the face of God's good green Earth now the reincarnation of roughly the single biggest threat the world has ever had to bear.

"You know…" A voice spoke from behind her, cutting the eerie silence into pieces. Sheena recognized who it was the second his mouth began uttering the first sound, and almost instantly felt like she would be punching something much more forgiving physically than logs and ground.

"…crying really doesn't become you." The voice finished, before plopping down beside her on the log. Sheena tilted her head just enough to see the tell-a-tale red hair that only served to confirm as to whom it was beside her.

"Not in the mood Zelos…" Sheena muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "…Just go away."

"Now come on…is that…" Zelos began before he actually noticed the tone in Sheena's voice. Zelos was a bit of an airhead to say the least, but even he knew when to drop acts and consider another person's feelings. "Lloyd's going to be okay. We'll find him She-" In a swift, fluid like motion, Sheena had Zelos by the collar of his outfit. Turning her head towards the former chosen, Sheena burned into his eyes with a furious glare, the tears that stained her cheeks and held steady within her eyes only further intensifying the glare.

"Don't you DARE lie to me Zelos…Yuan told me already." Sheena growled. In the end, however, her voice betrayed her true emotions of sorrow and depression over the all too apparent anger. Zelos tilted his head to the left, eyes opened in a curious manner.

"Sheena, what are you…"

"Yuan…he told me what happened." Sheena muttered, letting go of Zelos and burying her head into her knees. "Lloyd's not missing, he's gone."

"And we're going to-"

"I mean Lloyd…the man I know as Lloyd…is gone." Sheena muttered, sniffling once before letting a miserable sob escape past her defenses. "Lloyd Irving doesn't exist anymore!" As if the final blow to a fortress gate, Sheena simply crumbled. Despite her best attempts to defend against it, Sheena mentally collapsed, sobbing and weeping uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around her knees as tightly as she could, trying more than anything to disappear into nothingness. Beside her, while she broke into pieces, Zelos could only watch dumbfounded. He shook his head once as observed her shatter apart, running his hand through his hair as he tried to think of what to do.

"Sheena…Lloyd's not gone." Zelos began, still not sure by what she meant in the first place. Still, he knew what needed to be done. "Lloyd's still Lloyd, he's just missing is all. And come on…you've got the great Zelos Wilder on his trail. I'll bring Lloyd back home, no matter what." Zelos replied, praying to whatever God or Goddess would spare a moment to him for positive results. When Sheena looked up at Zelos and saw him wearing the same goof, irritating and comforting smile he always wore when things seem to get rough, she gave her head a furious shake.

"No! You don't understand!" Sheena yelled, stopped by Zelos as a he raised a hand to silence her.

"No Sheena, you don't understand." He poked himself in the chest with his thumb, exuding an aura of confidence and honesty. "I said I'll find him and bring him back. No. Matter. What." Zelos finished, seconds before just about being knocked off the log by Sheena. When he regained his balance, he noticed Sheena's head buried into his chest as she cried into it, leaving Zelos somewhat scared. This was still Sheena, the single toughest woman he had ever had the pleasure (or displeasure in some circumstances) of knowing. If she ever took this as him trying to take advantage of an emotionally crippled girl, she would turn him over to Origin, who would then tear Zelos apart in the most painful fashions imaginable. Sighing softly and quietly, Zelos wrapped an arm around his crying friend in need, rubbing her back comfortingly while she sobbed.

"There there…it'll be alright. I promise Sheena."

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A/N: And so, Zelos makes a promise. Can he keep it? Also, Sheena breaks down considerably, something I am hoping none too many of you see that often. Next chapter, among other things, will have the fated conversation between Kratos and Yuan. Peace. 


	13. Chapter 3: Reunion

**Insaneiac: Okay, I can already tell myself that when this chapter ends, people are going to have mixed emotions. Let me just remind you before this begins that Raine Sage is a realist. She's not prone to thinking what everyone else jumps on. She comprehends all options and possibilities at most times. With that out of the way, enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or the characters within the story. Namco does.

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Chapter 3: Reunion

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"Yuan…why did you do that?" Raine reprimand as she let the staff fall back to her side, gently inspecting his jaw line to see if the very large bruise had faded away. "Sheena was closer to Lloyd than anyone else… what could have convinced you to tell her?"

Yuan sighed once, pulling his face away from Raine's hands so as to bring one of his own to the newly healed jaw. He rubbed it for a few moments before he was satisfied. "That's exactly what did." Yuan reasoned, letting his hand drop away. "She, more than the rest of you, was closest to Lloyd. Doesn't she deserve to know why her heart's desire is currently the single most threatening thing to walk upon the world?" His head hung off his shoulders in shame momentarily, as a long and shaky breath made its way into his lungs. "Raine, she was being kept in the dark."

"Because Sheena is-"

"Raine, you know it as much as I do. Sheena is our only chance to get Lloyd back." Yuan interrupted, silencing the white haired healer. "If what Llo…Mithos said was true Raine, then Lloyd watched Sheena die, apparently at your own hands. That means we need to bring Sheena to Lloyd." A low murmur escaped Yuan's lips as his hands found their way to his hopelessly messed up hair, brushing another chunk of it out of his eyes. "Kratos is too busy being blind to realize that, and instead tries to keep her in the dark. For a man of over four thousands years, you'd think that arrogant fool would have an inkling of sense towards dealing with distraught women in love!" With a slight huff, Yuan pushed off the chair and to his feet, taking a handful of steps away from the table.

"You still blame yourself, don't you?" Raine inquired, turning to the kitchen.

"What do you think Raine? Even you wanted to throttle me when you found out what I did to Lloyd, and that was before he ended up becoming Mithos." Yuan retorted agitatedly bunching his hair up in his hands. "Kratos is probably going to kill me sooner or later."

"Not in this village he won't." Raine replied firmly, setting the teapot onto the stove. "As long as you stay in Iselia, I can guarantee your safety."

Yuan eyed the back of Raine's head dryly as he retorted. "Kratos is one of the best swordsman alive Raine-"

"And I am the Mayor of Iselia. And as long as I am, Kratos will follow _my _rules or I will kick him out." Raine stated solidly, turning to face Yuan. "What you need to realize now is that blaming you is useless now. We need to focus on getting Lloyd back, not finding the scapegoat to blame." As she finished, she saw Yuan's hands drop from his head and reveal his face, his eyes wide and filled with speechless gratitude.

"Your people might begin to hate you Raine."

"Yuan, thank you for the consideration but…" Raine began before swiping a nearby wooden spoon through the air, disturbingly fast. "…I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to challenge my authority."

As his left eye rose in confusion, Yuan began to smile like he used to. "Oh and just how are you going to manage backing that up? With your amazing talents in swordsmanship?"

The half-elf woman shook her head in response, a sly grin filling her face. "With a weapon far more powerful than anything on the good green planet…" Raine teased, flipping the spoon in her hand once before pointing it at Yuan. "…My cooking."

For a moment, the two simply stared at each other, each wearing a smile that twitched more and more before they broke down into laughter, the room quickly filling with the joyous sounds that seemed to have abandoned it a half week ago. The two continued like this for a good handful of minutes before they began to calm down, their eyes locking together, two pairs of blue eyes locked in amidst each other. And for a brief while, not a sound echoed in the room as the two half elves gazed at one another. Not until the first drop of rain bounced off the roof the house, followed swiftly by a steady fall of water from the Heavens.

"Raine…" Yuan muttered, giving his head a somber shake before turning away. "I'll fix this…Somehow." Raine stared somberly at the back of his head, and frowned. It was not a disapproving frown or a disappointed frown. It was a saddened frown, one that a friend would wear when they beheld their friend going through a period of suffering. Soon, the only sound that existed within the house was the steady pat of raindrops upon the roof. Despite each pitter and patter of heavenly water that hit the roof, Raine could even hear Yuan breathing his slow, calculated breaths. He began to twist around, turning with a mouth open to say something when his eyes locked with Raine's and his voice was caged. He could see her depressed facial features as clear as day.

"Yuan, I'm not going to just let you take this on alone." For some reason, it was these simple words that stirred something that had been hiding in Yuan for the last few days.

"Why do you care Raine?" Yuan muttered, taking a few steps towards Raine. Surprisingly enough, each footstep echoed and mixed in with the raindrop sounds upon the roof. "I just can't get it through my head. Why do you care what happens to me?" His voice seemed to fluctuate between higher and lower tones. Finally, he stopped walking when he was right in front of Raine, glancing down into her eyes. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because this isn't your fault Yuan." Raine responded, her eyes suddenly hardening. The answer struck deep into Yuan, rippling through him visibly. "How long have you beaten yourself up over something or another? Yuan, this was beyond your control." Yuan shook his head once in return before he opened his mouth to retort. He was quickly silenced by a raised hand from Raine. "Stop trying to convince yourself that you're to blame and start helping us get back Lloyd."

A loud slam echoed through the house as the door whipped open, the two half-elf heads turning rapidly to the door to see a drenched Zelos. His mouth was wide open as he stood there, signaling he was about to say something. Slowly, his head titled to the side as he began registering the fact that Raine and Yuan were no more than a few inches from each other, both looking way to comfortable for it to be coincidence.

"Zelos?"

"OH. Right!" Zelos began, shaking his head twice. "Kratos is back! And he's brought Regal and company!" Zelos finished before dashing back. Yuan and Raine exchanged a pair of quick blank glances before they followed suit and walked out of house in turn.

--- Outside ---

Regal, Genis and Presea stood in the center of a large group of people, all ranting and raving about what had happened since they left. Regal who had long since removed his shackles and become a freed man once more, was in very respectable attire that was quite becoming of a duke, answering the questions of the Iselia villagers like it was just another news conference. Behind him were the aforementioned Genis and Presea, dressed in attires befitting of those living on the very privileged side of the tracks. Both had gotten themselves a change in hairstyle, though one could not earnestly tell in the weather. Genis' once wild and uncontrollable white locks was now trimmed short and, even when wet and slack, didn't stretch down past his eyes. Presea had given up pigtails, wearing her hair slack. It was amazing how one difference could make Presea look all the more beautiful. Despite the rainfall that was now coming down in full force, they crowd mingled together, chatter and greetings exchanged as though they were all old and great friends.

Through the crowd, however, Genis spotted Raine coming out of the mayor house, her new headquarters as it were, followed in tow by the one person he'd never thought he'd see again. Yuan. What was more was that Raine was, or at least, had been recently, blushing. For the first time in his little life, Genis Sage was absolutely, positively, unquestionably dumbstruck.

'_My sister…And Yuan? What the hell!' _Genis screamed mentally, eyes wide as he watched the two come towards them. Turning ever so briefly, he could see Kratos' usually unreadable face contorted into a vicious sneer in Yuan's direction. _'Kratos has been too damn silent. He won't even explain why he's back. All he keeps saying is that Lloyd needs us.'_ Genis recounted, rubbing the back of his neck. _'Well then, where is he? If he needed us all, shouldn't he have been one of the first to greet us?'_

"…Genis?" Raine blurted out as she laid eyes on her little brother for the first time in over a month. Flashing a quick look to Yuan, who gave a half smile, Raine dashed towards her little brother. Genis smiled widely as he embraced his sister, a quiet "awwww" emitting from the crowd before a loud smack silenced them all, and plastered surprised looks onto the faces of the masses. Holding the back of his head, Genis cried in pain as Raine glared down at her little brother.

"So you LEAVE and then you forget all about me! No letters, no notice of your existence!" Raine reprimanded, waving a finger at Genis. Suddenly, her features softened again as she hugged her little brother once more. "I missed you Genis."

"I've missed you too Raine…well, parts of you at least. It's been nice not having to get slapped every so often."

--- Elsewhere ---

While the group mingled, Yuan watched from a distance, arms crossed in front of him. Not surprisingly, Sheena had refused to come out of her house. He could already tell by the atmosphere that there was confusion, but not anger. Whatever Kratos had told them to get them to come, it wasn't the truth. As if on cue, the moment that Kratos' name popped into his head, he began searching the crowd of people for the seraph, wondering if he had just disappeared. Where ever he was, Kratos was out of sight and hopefully out of mind. That was when his mind switched back to another thing that was nagging at him. Raine Sage.

More importantly, Raine Sage being able to cast an angelic spell while not being an angel. His mind may have gotten two steps into the topic when a rough hand gripped his shoulder and whipped him away from the public eye, yanking him behind a house. With a grunt, he felt himself hit the muddy ground face first before pushing to his feet and whipping around. He was about to start yelling when he saw Kratos standing with his back against the wall, glaring daggers into Yuan. Despite the evil glare, Yuan composed himself as best as possible, wiping the mud of his face and standing at his tallest before glaring back towards his old friend.

"Kratos."

"Get out." Kratos returned with a voice as frigid and unforgiving as black ice. "Take your stuff and remove yourself from Iselia. Now." There was no compassion in his voice, no level of caring. He was vicious and completely devoted to the demand.

"I fail to remember the day that I started following your orders Kratos." Yuan retorted. He sighed miserably as his soaked hair began to get in his eyes once again. Brushing it aside, Yuan continued. "For that matter, why would I follow your orders?"

"You've done enough to these poor people. Remove yourself from here and stop getting involved in things that do not concern you."

"I am many things Kratos, but I am no coward. This is partly my fault, and I'm going to do what I can to fix it." Yuan retorted.

"This is _all_ your fault Yuan. Lloyd is in trouble because of you, and I refuse to let you harm him anymore. Leave now…or I'll force you out myself."

"Kratos, you have no right to speak like that." Yuan retorted, taking a step towards the fellow seraph.

"He's my son; I have every right to say that." Kratos returned resting his hand gently on the hilt of his sword. If anything, this seemed to stir Yuan on further. It seemed to trigger something that, had Kratos been more picky about his words, would have remained dormant.

"HAH!" Yuan broke out, running a hand through his hair. "And what the hell would you know about being a father Kratos." Yuan didn't need to look at Kratos to tell that he was getting much less composed over the issue. Pushing off the wall, Kratos walked towards his friend, and pulled his hand away from the sword.

"What's that supposed to mean, Yuan?"

"What do you think it means Kratos?" He spat back. For a moment, there was nothing but the heavy patter of raindrops all around them. "Plainly put, you are a coward Kratos Aurion."

"I fail to see the validity of that comment, Yuan." Kratos spoke slowly and deliberately.

"You've run from Lloyd his entire life. You abandoned him after Anna was put to rest; you attacked him not once, not twice, but three times in total with the intent to kill him. To top it all off, you fled when the worlds were rejoined, off to Derris-Kharlan where you could be as far as possible from him." Yuan explained, his words just as venomous as they were honest. "Hell Kratos, what kind of father are you? He wanted a dad, what he got was a man too afraid to open up again."

"That's enough." Kratos murmured, shifting his head away from Yuan. Whether it was in disgust or in shame, Yuan couldn't care enough to find out.

"Comon Kratos! I'm more of a father to him than you are." As soon as he uttered those words, Kratos' head whipped back to Yuan's, their eyes locking together in a death glare. "I've watched him since he wound up in Iselia Kratos. I've kept tabs on _your_ son, keeping him safe from the Desian's eyes. Why do you think he kept that exsphere for so long you fool?"

"That means nothing…"

"You didn't even know he was in love Kratos. You traveled with him for a time, and you couldn't see the way he acted around Sheena. I knew it, and I was watching him from a damned screen Kratos."

"Yuan, stop this now." Kratos muttered darkly.

"You're a coward Kratos. If anything, you should get out. The way you've been around him, the only way you'd be his father is by blood relation. That's the end of it, since you seem too freaking afraid to be there for him." Yuan winced as Kratos grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and lifted him up. He knew he was angering Kratos, but after being slapped, punched, stabbed (repeatedly) mocked, broken, and despised, Yuan just didn't care anymore. He wanted to vent, and he wanted to say something that Kratos needed to hear.

"Shut up." The words sounded like warning smoke from the nostrils of an enraged dragon.

"It's your fault he's in trouble Kratos." Yuan growled, not doing a thing to remove the hand. "And if I leave it to you, you'll probably just solve it the way you did with Anna." The second he uttered that, he regretted it. He knew that with Anna, Kratos had no choice but to kill her. To Kratos it was like carving his soul in two and throwing half of it into a blazing inferno. Yuan wanted to take back what he said the second it left his mouth, but he really didn't have the chance. Kratos dropped him to his feet, and took a step back before swinging his right hand through the air and connecting with the side of Yuan's jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"You have no right to say that!" Kratos shouted. Yuan rubbed his chin, grimacing as the pain returned from Sheena's punch. He was getting awfully tired of people punching him, whether he had earned such notions or not aside.

"Kratos you arrogant bastard! Tell me if anything I said was wrong! You abandoned Lloyd once, and when Mithos was gone you did it again. Why Kratos?" Yuan continued as he seethed anger. He craved an answer from Kratos, he hungered for it, but when his former comrade stared blankly at him, he continued regardless. "Let me answer that for you then. You, Kratos Aurion, are afraid. You are afraid of your own son Kratos. You're a coward then, and you're a coward now!" This time, Yuan ducked the attempted punch, driving his own fist into Kratos' stomach. He didn't know if it was anger, or pent up urges of vengeance, but he felt like punching Kratos regardless. "Why? Why are you so damned afraid of him huh? Why can't you find it in yourself to love your own flesh and blood Kratos?"

"Shut…UP!" Kratos yelled, swinging his elbow into the side of Yuan's head and knocking him off his feet. Yuan landed on his side with a dull thud, his head ringing like a gong. "I'm not afraid of him."

"Then what is it Kratos. Why do you always run from him? Even when the end came, you had an "injury" Kratos. You've never been there for him. So please, do tell me…" Yuan slurred, holding the side of his head as he stumbled back to his feet, pulling his hand away to see his blood get washed away by the rain. "…why you can't face him?"

"I don't want to lose him. You can't lose what you willingly give up." Kratos muttered dejectedly, hanging his head. It took Yuan a few moments, but when it hit him, it hit him hard. "But I can't watch this happen to him. I can't let Lloyd become corrupt like Mithos was." Yuan had to pause for a moment after he heard Kratos speak, to find the strength to continue. The fact that someone like Kratos could actually be focusing on crushed him.

"Kratos…you're not trying to save Lloyd…you're trying to kill Mithos." Yuan spoke slowly, his eyes as wide as plates. Yuan had known Kratos for well over four thousand years. He had stood by his side in major conflicts, looked up to him for help and in admiration, and even saved his life a minor handful of times. Not once had he ever believe Kratos to have a side of him that was so brutally and truly cold. Not this man, who had been betrayed by friends and family more than any man should, who had been just as quick to heal the wounds of the man he might had just killed, should he be within reach of redemption. This was Kratos Aurion, the formerly the single most feared warrior of Cruxis, but the one man who would never truly turn on the ones he loved and cherish.

Whoever was standing before him now, whoever was standing in the purple battle suit he had come to hold great admiration for, it was not the man he looked up to as a father, or stood beside like brothers.

"I want Lloyd to live in peace and happily. He can't do that as is. I may not be the best father…I might be a monster by all standard." Kratos muttered, turning to face Yuan sadly. "But I love my son. He deserves to live free. If he can't, then it is my responsibility to free him." Kratos spoke somberly. Slowly, Kratos closed his eyes and let the rain briefly wash over him, breathing deeply before opening his eyes once more. When he did, he took a right hand to the center of his face, knocking him clean off his feet. His head hit the muddy ground with a thunk, his body followed suit. He felt a hand grab him by the collar and lift his head up from the ground and pulling him into another vicious right hand that finally drew blood.

"You love him, yet instead of trying to free him, you immediately consider him lost." Yuan growled, punching his former comrade once more, just as hard as the other times. "What will tell his friends? WHAT WILL YOU TELL SHEENA! That it was your duty as his father to take his life from him unquestionably." Yuan yelled, punching Kratos yet again. "I can't believe that this is coming from you Kratos…that you would do something so heartless." As Yuan went for yet another punch, Kratos lunged forward driving his head into Yuan's gut and knocking the blue haired man off of him. As Yuan rolled to his feet, Kratos tackled him brutally, launching out from behind the buildings and into the middle of the town. Kratos rolled off of Yuan quickly, pushing up to his feet to glare back at Yuan. Yuan slowly pushed up onto his feet, turning his head to glare maliciously at Kratos as he did.

"Yuan, you are in no place to pass judgment."

"Kratos, what you are saying…" Yuan snarled at he pushed off his hands and onto his feet. "...is the same thing as saying that your son has already died. This is the child you unsealed Origin for, that you betrayed Mithos for…Do you really think so little of him Kratos?" Yuan reasoned. He could see the words had had an effect on Kratos, and he felt it twice as much as Kratos' right hand caught Yuan in the side of the jaw and knocked him off his feet. The back of Yuan's head landed in a puddle that was not-so-oddly deep. As though the water was a rejuvenating fluid, Yuan pushed back to his feet and glared at Kratos. As though the skies themselves were approving, the rain harden, each drop exploding into the ground around them with a thrilling and enrapturing force. His eyes narrowed as he watched his comrade steadily, his vision blurring every so often.

"Yuan, leave now…" Kratos began with a voice of eerie calm."…Or I'll kill you."

Yuan had heard those words before, constantly to be exact. Almost everyone he knew had uttered to him at least once in his lifetime. In many ways, it had become a common occurrence for his presence to draw those words out. However, this was the first time Kratos had ever uttered those words to him. Three words that he had so honestly believe to have grown deaf to, filled him to the brim with fear. Yet that was not enough to silence and defeat the leader of the Renegades.

"Kratos…you've changed."

"No Yuan. I've gained a purpose again. I'll free Lloyd from Mithos, I swear on my life." Kratos muttered, rubbing his wrists slowly. "And if you don't leave, then on that same vow, I'll kill you."

------ Regal's Group ------

"You don't call, write, visit, or even give me a sign that you're still alive. Tell me, is your name still Genis?" Raine repeated again, Genis pulling backwards in fear. "And now you're afraid of me too! I don't see you for a month and already Regal has turned you against me." Raine continued admonished, quickly shooting her head up to the taller, very well dressed and now positively drenched Regal. "No offense." A dismissive wave of the hand and a simple smile allowed Raine the piece of mind to return to Genis.

"The rainfall is unwavering. It would take us 12.7 seconds to enter a house and remove ourselves from the downpour." Presea spoke up, for the first time. Raine reared her head back and blinked a few times before actually noticing that it was, in fact, coming down in literal buckets. Sighing, Raine extended her hand to her house, and smiled.

"Thank you Presea." Raine spoke, before turning towards the house. Her head stopped in mid turn as she caught sight of something bone chilling. Kratos had his foot planted on Yuan's neck, and his sword was hanging just above Yuan's forehead. For some reason, out of the entire group, she was the only one that could see it. For a split second she was stunned and motionless before her hands pulled themselves into action. A quick yelp from Zelos was the only thing she could clearly hear as her hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword and withdrew it.

"KRATOS! NO!" Raine screamed as she charged towards the dominant warrior. Just by looking at him, she could see his demeanor was one of raw fury. For some reason she could not come to understand, seeing that vicious aura around Kratos made her speed up. As the blade was a mere heartbeat from piercing Yuan's head, Raine swung Zelos' sword with all her might, connected viciously with Kratos' blade. The force of the attack had been enough to drive the weapon from Kratos' hands, and imbed it into a wall quite a ways away. Blinking once, Kratos soon felt the hilt of the blade connect mightily with his nose, shattering it and knocking the man into the air. Kratos landed with a dull thud in a large puddle, blinking a few times as his face was rained upon, swiping the blood down along his face as it flowed from his nose. With a grunt, Kratos pushed to his hands and glared at Yuan before hiss vision shifted to the face, the immeasurably angry face, of Raine. Her eyes were narrower than he had ever seen before, and her whole body was trembling with rage. In her hands was Zelos' sword, gripped tightly within them and pointed at the soft neck of Kratos. All in all, it left him completely shocked that a healer could catch him off guard.

"What are you…"

"SHUT UP!" Raine yelled, silencing Kratos. From behind her, she could hear everyone gathering, everyone rushing to see what was going on. She didn't need to glance at them to see the confusion running rampant amidst the people.

"Why are you protecting the man responsible for turning my son into Mithos Raine?" Kratos growled, his voice untreated enough to allow it's meaning to flow into Raine, and loud enough for the words to reach everyone else. Instantly, the entire group turned to face Yuan as he struggled back to his feet whilst coughing viciously. All around them, the silence descended. Raine's glare hardened considerably as she realized just what Kratos was doing.

"…Yuan…you did what…?" Genis muttered first, blinking in complete awe. Genis was the only one who could truly utter a word at that point, as everyone else stood and glared at the man. Again, the sound of heavy rainfall became the only sound that resonated from the group. Eyes began to narrow in Yuan's direction, and fists began to shake. Yet before anything could happen, the sound of a sword becoming imbedded in the ground filled the air, before the solid and raw sound of a slap followed. Kratos' head was wrenched to the left as his right cheek burned with the fury of a woman scorned.

"Kratos Aurion. The fact that you openly disrupt the peace and attempt to murder a friend within my city aside, do you know what I think…who I blame?" Raine began coldly, walking over to Yuan to see if he was okay. A pair of nods was exchanged before Raine turned back around and faced the slowly angering mob. With a breath, she prepared herself for what was to come.

"I blame Lloyd."

"What?" Kratos spoke shocked, only receiving a nod in return from Raine. Murmurs of varying tones passed through the crowd, except for Zelos, Colette, Genis, Presea and Regal, who were all staring at Raine in morbid awe.

"I blame Lloyd Irving Aurion." Everyone, even Yuan, had shifted their gaze to Raine as she spoke again, the rain doing well to hide the tears that were coming down her cheeks. "Lloyd was the one who told us that whatever may happen, if you fight and never give in, then you never truly lose. He never once gave up when things were incredibly tough, he never abandoned hope when things were looking down. He encouraged us all to keep holding onto our beliefs and dreams. That we only lose when we admit defeat." Raine paused for a moment, staring at Genis. When all she could see was his ruthless glare, she turned to each person in order. Nothing positive came to her from them, until she came to Yuan's eyes. In them, she felt her strength renewed and rekindled. She felt the courage to continue saying what must be said.

"Lloyd _gave in_…because of one thing that happened in a dream. Lloyd _gave_ himself to Mithos. Lloyd _gave_ himself to the person he promised to never give in to. The hero and man we all love and cherish, the one responsible for us all being strong enough to fight our own battles, gave into a trick and allowed himself to become Mithos. That is why I blame Lloyd."

For a moment, not a soul spoke. Yuan could only stare in awe at the woman who had just spoke not only in his defense, but fought against her best of friends and even her own family in defense of her own belief. All eyes shifted to Kratos, who began to walk up to Raine somberly, his hands tightening and loosening rapidly as he approached Raine. In the back of his head, Yuan could here himself threatening to destroy Kratos if he touched her.

"You...bitch." Kratos spoke darkly, before turning around and walking away. He took seven long strides through the rain before his wings revealed themselves and he flew off into the cloudy sky, leaving Iselia in the dark. As they watched him leave, slowly everyone's vision turned back to Raine, who was now shaking and shivering. Not as though she was cold, but as though she was completely mortified with what she had just done. Walking up slowly, Yuan rested a hand on her shoulder for comfort, which she let rest there without motion. Sighing once, Yuan raised his head to the group or on lookers, and nodded.

"Could someone please go get Sheena? There is much I have to explain…This is not as easy to understand as you might think."

------ ? ------

"Hmm?" A voice spoke from the darkness of the forest, a figure sitting on a log, wrapped in a dark cloak. "What is that you say?"

A smile formed on the figure's lips, as he let a hand snake to his brown hair that hid beneath the hood of the cloak. "Where are we going? That's easy."

"Mizuho."

* * *

A/N: ZOMG! I suck for taking that long. I'm sorry, I have been fighting with a bit of writers block, and it took a period of four days baking under the sun to free me from it. Well, here you all go. I warn you now, the next chapter is a large discussion chapter, but it does reveal one very important part to the story. Finally, the next chapter will explain, in full, the Aeon Jewel. Peace! 


	14. Chapter 4: The Almighty Aeon Jewel

**Insaneiac: Let's get this going. This is a big chapter folks. Lots of talking, lots of emotional shocks, and more importantly, lots of revelation. It's been put off far enough. Chapter four of Act two, and possibly the most important chapter I've teased you all about. The Aeon Jewel revealed, the truths stated…and then tragedy. Enjoy.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, NAMCO does. Sorry.

* * *

_ Chapter 4: The Almighty Aeon Jewel

* * *

The world was fully cast in the shadow of night as endlessly cascading blankets of rain the descended upon the fair land for the heavens above, each drop adding to the bountiful amount the preceded it. For many of the denizens of the world Symphonia, they would sneer in distaste at such weather, labeling it as ugly and disgusting. Such was not the case for the only noticeable person within the distance as he trudged through the downpour nearly leisurely, a thick cloak covering the entire being. None too far ahead of him lay the gates to the hidden village of water itself, Mizuho. A slow smile curved across the figure's face as he beheld the two ninjas standing at firm guard just outside of the gate, each drop of rain serving both to keep the awake and attuned to the nature around them. The ninjas and warriors of Mizuho were easily the third most fear inducing and dangerous gift that the village provided, with the second being the ideals and separate religion it taught and lived rigorously by, and the very first being a young woman of nineteen by the name of Sheena Fujibayashi.

Or, in much simpler terms, his one great weakness and only true threat. Ever so briefly, the man lifted his head long enough for a few strands of blonde hair and a pair of crisp and clear cerulean eyes to glint amidst the thick drops of water before both became shades of chocolate-like brown. Both ninjas standing guard turned their heads towards the newcomer, a hand within their cloaks and reaching for either their wakizashis or for their equally as deadly cards. Either way, both would be nothing more than a minor annoyance, yet they would inevitably ruin the true purpose of this meeting.

"Identify yourself at once." The ever so slightly taller guard spoke. Surprisingly, the voice was that of a female, clearly something the figure had not suspected in the first place. However, it meant even less then what it might have before hand. A pair of hands reached to the hood of his cloak and pulled back to reveal a charming and sincere face with a pair of courageous brown eyes and a head of now dampening brown hair. Both guards withdrew their hands from their cloaks and bowed, with the same woman clasping her hands together upon returning to a full stance.

"I am deeply sorry Lloyd; I was completely unaware that it was you." She spoke, nodding as Lloyd drew the hood back over his head. "What brings you to Mizuho at this point in time?"

"I was hoping to speak with Chief Igaguri… I have something very important I want to ask him." Lloyd spoke, his words soft and heartfelt. "I know it's late but…"

"For you Lloyd I am truly sure that Chief Igaguri would not mind at all."

A smile filled on Lloyd's face from beneath the hood, though this was a smile that lacked any of the emotion his words had carried. This was a smile that dealt the exact opposite feeling and emotion. It was dark and gave the notion of sinister things to come. But neither guard could see it as they turned around. The taller female guard began to walk forward, Lloyd following her closely while the second guard fell in line behind Lloyd and led the way.

"Truly wonderful." Lloyd spoke as he gazed ahead, looking for the village lights to come into view.

------ The Village of Iselia------

"Okay, I don't really know about everyone else…but dammit, I want some freaking answers here!" Zelos demanded, slamming his hands down on the large table that rested within the center room of Raine's house. The table had enough room for the people Raine had deemed of highest importance. That list composed of herself, Zelos, Colette, Regal, Genis, Presea, and of course a horridly distraught, nigh catatonic Sheena. Rubbing her forehead in dismay, she looked to Zelos and grimaced, her eyes delivering the firm message of 'shut the hell up loudmouth and wait'. Needless to say, the former chosen took the hint rather exceptionally and sat back down.

"Raine, what the hell is going on? First Kratos gives us some story about Lloyd needing us, and then he's trying to kill his best friend? And what is this about Lloyd turning into Mithos….Raine…just what the hell is going on!" Genis shot, roughly scratching the back of his head. He never noticed Raine's head dipping in response to his inquiries, believing that she could duck his questions and avoid explaining an already difficult situation. Yuan had opted to get certain things ready before unveiling the truth, hoping that it would ease the process a little more. "And why is this Lloyd's fault?" Raine's head shot up in a fury at Genis with a look on her eyes that a pair of beams could have shot out from.

"…why is it Lloyd's fault…" Sheena mumbled quietly. Raine slowly her head to glance at the summoner worriedly and became slightly distraught that she had still retained her original choice of seating. She sat straight up, hands folded neatly on her lap with her head hung off her shoulders and pointed directly down at her hands. Her eyes were fixated on the ground as though it were Lloyd himself. When she had spoken that time, which was the first time anyone in the room had heard her speak in a long time, Raine could sense no emotion on the surface of it. However, just by the feeling and aura she emitted from her being one could sense a deeper sense of anguish and sorrow. After all, what do you do when the person closest to you turns into the very same person that toyed and violated with your mind. Doing something Raine rarely ever did, she turned her glance to Regal, locking eyes with the Duke in a desperate attempt to garner some support while she waited for Yuan.

"I don't understand…how is it that Lloyd could become Mithos? Neither is similar in race, age, appearance or any of the most qualifying traits that would be necessary to commit such a change." Presea spoke analytically. Presea paused right after her blurb, tilting her head and closing her eyes to partake upon a moment of deep thought, Presea sighed animatedly and turned to Genis. "I do not understand this at all. How is it possible that Lloyd Irving could become Mithos Yggdrasill? Is this very simply a change in name?"

"Presea, for the time being, please keep your thoughts on the matter private." Regal spoke authoritatively, shifting his head just enough to glance at Presea. Then he shifted his head to the one person in the room that everyone truly felt like avoiding. Colette. Colette had taken what Raine had proclaimed to heart, and was hell bent on burning a hole the size of one of the blonde angel's chakrams into the healer. The icy cold gaze that resonated within her eyes was something no one had ever quite seen before, both malicious and honest in the aura it conveyed. Not a person in the room truly felt that Colette was in the wrong for doing what she was doing, not even Raine's own brother. Aside from the only other person the room hated more, Raine was truly alone amidst her friends. Regal paused to look at Colette concernedly before turning his head back to Raine's and shaking woefully.

"…why…" Sheena whispered. By standards, the whisper was as silent as a drop of water in a desert, but everyone in the room heard it far clearer than anything else that day.

'_Me and my big mouth…I thought the child was supposed to take after the adult, not the other way around. I'm the smart one, I'm supposed to be able to distinguish between the right times and wrong times to speak. Lloyd's fault…what the hell was I thinking.' _Raine critiqued, her hand rubbing the back of her head slowly. Despite the fact that she was being either subjected to the sounds of Sheena falling apart piece by piece, Genis and Zelos' thousands of questions, and the glare of death from Colette, Raine knew she needed to keep a solid face. She wanted to break down just as much as the others did, but she had to keep strong in respects to the rest of the people. They needed a pillar they could rely on for the time being, and Lloyd had left heft shoes to fill in that sense. That being said, she almost forgot her mental creed of emotional indifference and nearly leapt for joy when she saw Yuan walk back into the room, holding an odd machine that seemed to be hooked up to his arm, a long cord attached firmly to his now empty keycrest.

The machine looked like something accustomed to a lamp, with four make shift arms at the top of a large round base holding. In the arms was his Cruxis crystal, and at the point in-between the base of the machine and the arms was the cord attached the keycrest. On each side, sticking diagonally outwards was two long metal rods. To be honest, the thing that Yuan had either scrounged up or haphazardly pieced together (or very likely it was both aforementioned choices) looked like it could explode with one wrong action.

"Alright then…" Yuan mumbled sitting down at the empty seat near the end of the table, and resting the machine on the table. He could already feel a pair of nigh demonic gazes resting upon him, as both Colette and Sheena shifted their attention to the half-elf. "…pleasant. First things first…this machine is, thanks to a fair bit of frankensteining handiwork on my part, capable of displaying certain images that I had thought to keep with me at all times, so that you can all better understand what I am about to say. Before anyone imposes, I've fine tuned it enough so that it stays out of all my personal pictures and to keep strictly to what you people need to see." Yuan spoke, albeit a little dryly. Everyone could tell though that this was not the same brash and confident Yuan from before.

"How about you tell us just what in Martel's name is going on!" Zelos nearly yelled, his left hand closing tightly on the arm of his chair. "What is this about Lloyd turning into Mithos? Is this what Sheena meant by Lloyd being gone, Is this why Sheena was emotional, is this why Kratos tried to kill you…just what have you gone and done this time half-elf?" The former chosen continued ruthlessly with his eyes locked firmly upon the form of Yuan. Yuan's eyes narrowed ever so briefly whilst Genis' became like ice, frosty enough to push Zelos down into his seat and shut him up. Genis briefly tossed a glance to Raine, worried about his sister even though he wasn't truly brave enough to stand on her side. Despite the lack of tears or anything, brotherly intuition told him that his sister was in bad spirits. Even if Genis thought she was in the wrong, the Gods themselves best help the person the made this personal.

"Alright then Zelos, have it your way…Lloyd Irving no longer exists, so to speak." He hadn't even needed to pause himself to feel the attitude shift from confused and afraid to completely hostile. "And despite what Raine had said and assumed, I can assure you all that much of this is my fault."

"What…but how? What did you do to Lloyd?" Genis shouted accusingly. "_What did you do to my best friend?"_

"I could put it many different ways but, frankly, I've stopped caring about retaining any sense of pride in the matter. I had offered Lloyd the chance to…discover and acknowledge feelings that he had been attempting to state. He accepted my offer and I, in turned, gave him a potent hallucinogenic and put him into a very deep sleep." Yuan started, sighing once. "And because of that, I awakened feelings within Lloyd that, in turn, woke up Mithos."

"But…how did Mithos get inside of him? I thought he was destroyed along with his Cruxis crystal." Regal spoke, rubbing his chin.

"Simple. Those fragments flowed into Lloyd's exsphere." Raine interjected, spurring old memories within the group. "His Cruxis crystal fragments all combined with Lloyd's exsphere. In turn, this transmitted his remaining essence and soul into Lloyd. Because Lloyd had a keycrest on, Mithos could stay himself while growing power within Lloyd's being. At least, I think that is it. To be truly honest, this is all theory."

"But…then wouldn't that in turn allow fragments of the blame to rest upon us?" Presea spoke analytically, clearly saying the thing no one else in that room had wanted to hear. Everyone's head lowered as the consideration resonated within, slowly chopping away at the anger they had directed towards Raine or Yuan. Even Colette had felt her eyes soften slightly, though more in a notion of shame than anything else.

"It's worse that just Mithos." Yuan interrupted. "In fact, we could have all considered us lucky if this was just a case of Mithos forcing his will upon Lloyd. Unfortunately, that is not the case." A long sigh escaped the blue haired half-elf's lips as he glanced across the room and locked eyes with a part of the wall. What he had to say next would be nearly impossible for the people in the room to stay stoic over, and for his own good he sought to avoid noticing any of the expressions.

"What…what could be worse than Mithos taking over Lloyd…**TAKING OVER FREAKING LLOYD!**" Zelos yelled at the top of his lungs, once more slamming his hand on the table. "And besides, if that is all it is, all we need to do is go to him and remind him who he is. Even if Mithos is there, once he-"

"Shut up Zelos, you damned fool." Yuan shouted impatiently and then ignoring the swordsman's glare of death. "That's impossible now. It's impossible because Lloyd isn't unwilling in this." The words were so simple and so to the point, yet not a single person acted the way Yuan thought they would. Needless, he tossed away the need to note reactions and continued. "Mithos isn't forcing himself upon Lloyd as it stands. Lloyd is willingly and whole heartedly allowing Mithos to take control…" Yuan glanced up slowly, turning his head to Colette, then Zelos, then the rest of the people before landing on Sheena. His attempt to remain unaware of Lloyd's friend's emotional reaction was useless now. He needed to make sure the person got the point.

"Lloyd Irving discovered two emotions within that dream…and acknowledged them both. And as far as I can assume, they were the two most honest and powerful emotions a soul can become attuned to. They were hatred in its purest and rawest form, and love in its truest and most untarnished radiance." He paused as he watched Sheena's head slowly lift from its hanging position and face Yuan's. He could care less about the horrified looks within the faces of the rest of them, or the confusion that ran rampant amidst the younger members. He was too busy staring into the eyes of a woman who had already faced far too much depression and chaos. And she was truly about to face so much more.

"To the best of my knowledge…the love he experienced was for you Sheena…" He could see her eyes soften and lighten up considerably as the words left his mouth, causing him even more distress. He knew she already knew, but he hadn't a doubt that the knowledge of such a feeling would ever fail to warm her heart.

"And the people he hates are the rest of you…for killing her in front of Lloyd without a shred of mercy."

And all at once, the pandemonium hit. Every pair of eyes in the room shot to Yuan with deathly combinations of anger, fear and confusion. He could hear the trembling of mouths and the shattered formations of curses and arguments brewing within the mouths of the people around him. Even Raine, who had not been aware of it at all, was in a state of horror and shock. The only person that was different from the rest was Colette, who had proceeded to capture Yuan's attention by slowly raising a hand and pointing at Sheena, the limb and digit trembling as fiercely as he lips.

"You…mean…Lloyd…" Colette struggled, dropped the hand to her side before looking at Yuan. This time, there was not a shred of anger in her eyes, only a terrible sense of confusion that had engulfed her whole. "Lloyd…he has to have known it was a dream right…**RIGHT**? DOESN'T HE!" Yuan remained silent as the young girl's screams overtook the rest of the panic. Lowering his head, Yuan sat down upon his chair and waited. "You mean…Lloyd…"

"What he means, Colette…" Sheena finally commenced as her voice maintained eerily calm and collected disposition that greatly contradicted the way she presented herself at the time. "…is that he believes I'm dead and that you killed me. Lloyd didn't lose himself to Mithos…he turned to Mithos to exact vengeance upon you all…" The words had been more like knives, digging into and through the last emotional barriers of the people within the room. Zelos seemed to fall into a state of shock, almost looking as though nothing registered with him at all, whilst Genis replied other wise. Despite his small frame, he had no problems flinging the chair he had been sitting on across the room before storming off to a secluded area of the room.

"Lloyd…hates us?" Presea spoke. It wasn't confusion in any sense, it was disbelief. It was as though the notion was completely unreasonable.

"Yes…and it gets worse." Yuan finally spoke anew, drawing all the attention back onto himself. "Mithos is in complete control of Lloyd…and nearly has all the powers of a God…"

------ Chief Igaguri's House ------

A pair of short raps sounded upon the door of Igaguri's hovel in the act to see if the elder was awake. When a firm "enter" followed shortly after the knock, the lead female guard opened the door up and gave way for Lloyd to enter into the room before being followed by the guards. Sparing a moment before introductions, Lloyd withdrew the hood from his cloak and gave his head a quick shake before running a hand through his head and whipping away any leftover water within his hair. With this ritual completed, Lloyd turned his head to face Chief Igaguri, allowing a smile to slip onto his lips. The Chief spent a short handful of moments staring at the swordsman before turning his attention to the guards.

"…Please leave us." Igaguri demanded, looking to the female guard. "Leave us and do not enter." A nod of confirmation was all he saw before she shut the door behind her and left Chief Igaguri in the same room as the cloaked Lloyd Irving.

"Chief, it's been fa-"

"I may be very old in this day and age, invader, but I am no fool by any cause." Igaguri stated firmly, eyes narrowed sharply as he beheld the swordsman. "Whoever you are, you are not Lloyd Irving. You may be in his body, but you are far from him." Lloyd's smile, if anything, widened at this statement.

"Heh, old man, perhaps you've just grown a tad bit senile." Lloyd responded, albeit in a tone befitting of a devil. "It's me, Lloyd. Who else would I be?"

"A wolf in a sheep's skin." The old chief replied just a firmly, hand gripping tightly on his staff. Choosing not to continue wasting time, Igaguri drove the end of his staff into the ground once to create a powerful stamp before continuing. "Reveal yourself now, and state why you've come to my village."

"You know, old man…you truly should respect your elders. They've had far more time to experience this ludicrous world and a far vaster amount of wisdom." Lloyd spoke slowly, his eyes shifting back to the blue that had become natural to him, and his hair became slack and dirty blonde. He had shifted from the shape of Lloyd to the immaculate combination of an adult Lloyd and Yggdrasill. As he stood back to full height, he towered by nearly a head and a half over the old chief, a demonic smile bearing an angel's radiance worn upon his face. Despite the change in appearance, the chief of Mizuho was far from scared. He looked as stoic and commanding as ever.

"Why aren't you bowing, old man." Llythos mocked, staring malevolently down at Igaguri.

"Because you are no God, nor are you deserving of such honor. What do you want, demon spawn?"

"Sheena. Where is she?" Llythos demanded, his wings slowly slipping out from his cloak as he took off the cloth, revealing his fully armored and benevolent figure. His very revealing filled the room with light before it faded away and left the room to the candles once more. "Where is your granddaughter?"

"Then you best leave now. I shall tell nothing to a demon such as you." Igaguri stated solidly, his voice never displaying fear or horror in any way. He still looked as though he was in perfect control, still felt as though he was in complete power over himself.

"I had thought as much…but you seem to give yourself far too much credit. After all, you should know the name of Symphonia's true God." Llythos stated, kneeling down to gaze at eye level with the old man. "My name is Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion, the new God of this world. And if you think I need you alive to bring that foolish little child to me, you are far more imprudent and pathetic than you let on." With that, Llythos' left hand snaked towards the old man's neck and gripped it tightly. Despite the intentions within his eyes, Llythos gladly wore a smile that seemed to exude a sense of mock kindness. "You can still beg forgiveness…"

"And you can try all you want. If you think you can tame Lloyd's spirit, than you are the truly foolish one." A loud slam sounded from behind the two men, prompting Llythos to slowly rise to his feet, dragging the old chief up with him. Raising his arm up as high as he could, Llythos slowly twisted his head around to face Tiga, the head and body shifting from Llythos to Lloyd. The transformation seemed to have an even deeper effect on the man than when he had come in to see Chief Igaguri's neck within the grasp of an unidentified angel of all things. The swordsman's smile seemed to grow in strength as he beheld Tiga stuttering, allowing a long and razor sharp glare to pierce into the vice-chief's soul.

"Any final words for your dearly departed chief?" Lloyd taunted, watching the words and voice snap Tiga back to full attention. Before he could even mutter the beginning to his rebuttal, Lloyd's hand shifted sharply to the right side, as though it were a cannonball loosed from the cannon. A disgusting snapping sound filled the room with ease, not to mention the ears of Tiga, signifying the end of Chief Igaguri. As he watched the single most honorable person he had ever known snap the neck of the single most powerful figure he had ever served, Tiga felt tears seep to his eyes. With no more than a grunt, Lloyd released the neck of Chief Igaguri and allowed him to fall limp to the ground. Even as the chief tumbled to the ground, his eyes still open and still bearing the strength and flawless bravery he represented, Tiga could tell he was gone. He was simply gone in a blink of the eye, done in by the man that had managed to move his heart and soul with his gentle but unbreakable moral foundations

"Lloyd…what have you…" Tiga sputtered out before dropping to his knees. His right hand began to extend towards the deceased frame of Igaguri as though he truly did not believe the man to be dead. However, that emotional need for confirmation was shattered, along with the vice-chief's elbow, as Lloyd's foot came crashing down maliciously onto the limb. An ear-splitting scream of wonderful suffering erupted from the vice-chief's lips, loading the empty room with an exquisite melody of horrid pain. As the first scream died down, Tiga let another horrid cry of agony erupt from his mouth as a second wave of pain washed over his entire being, both physically and mentally. As his second scream wined to a halt, he forced down a possible third scream and shifted his head from the utterly destroyed appendage to that of Lloyd's joyous and happy face.

With great length in time, Lloyd withdrew one of the two Eternia blades and held it to the throat of the incapacitated vice chief. "Now, why don't you do me a favor and tell me where Sheena is, before I become a little less gracious with your well being…"

------ Iselia ------

"Wait, how the hell can this be worse? Lloyd wields the Eternal sword, and is considered the damned savior of the worlds. Mithos is in complete control of that power…how the hell can this get worse?" Zelos exclaimed and repeated himself as he stood a near heartbeat from ripping out his hair in frustration. "None of this makes sense...Didn't Mithos ask to be destroyed in the end? I thought he wanted to die while remaining at least a part of himself."

"Obviously Zelos, Mithos lied." Genis replied as he went to reclaim his chair from the place he had decided to hurl it. Taking a deep breath before sitting, Genis went back to becoming a part of the group at the table. "Dammit…I asked Lloyd to do it for him…I thought he'd finally stop…I'm supposed to be the smart one, so why did I ask him to do something so stupid!"

"As much as you might believe, Genis, that this is your fault or anyone's fault here." Raine spoke; sighing slowly as the news once again resonated within her. "Mithos must have played on Lloyd's emotions or something to that extent…how else would he achieve this."

"Okay, enough!" Zelos yelled, silencing both of the Sage family members. Whipping his head to the oddly silent Yuan, Zelos continued with the same degree of gusto he had been carrying since the announcement. "You said Mithos is now nearly as powerful as a God…What in the name of all that is holy does that mean?"

"Well…"

"And no damned sugar coated crap this time!" Zelos continued, gripping the table angrily. Zelos was a truly hard man to enrage, but when he got to the point where he was angry, little could stow his rage.

Fine, have it your way…As it stands, the person you know as Lloyd is gone. He no longer exists, at least not at a level we can reach." Yuan took a deep breath as he began to try and piece together what he exactly wanted to say, ignoring the mix of still curious glances and vicious glares. "What Lloyd saw was something no man should ever have to see happen, at least to what I can understand by theories and his broken ramblings. However I know this. Lloyd does not exist now…Mithos does." Another pause, this time accompanied by a grimace and mumblings as the former Renegade leader wrapped a hand around each metal bar and unleashed a light and constant stream of electricity into the machine, causing the Cruxis crystal to began to glow. "And, as I had also stated before…Mithos is now the nearest thing to a God this planet has ever seen." The final statement was as ruthlessly silencing, not unlike the notion of Lloyd becoming Mithos had been, enrapturing the entire room in a disturbed calm and drawing forth awestruck murmurs that fast began to fill the house.

"But what do you mean?" Colette asked astonished. The group was awestruck when the machine activated to its fullest level. A greenish three dimensional image of a crystal flickered on and off before activating fully, the colors clearing up and revealing a nearly pitch black crystal on one side, and a pure white crystal on the other side.

"These are the two parts to the prototype of an exsphere of immense power called an Aeon Jewel. To my understanding, this is what truly inspired Mithos to create exspheres in the very first place. An Aeon Jewel is a stone that, when fully activated…" Yuan paused, arranging his thoughts before continuing. "…would dwarf the power of the entire world's exspheres combined." A set of murmurs and worried whispers passed amidst the people before Yuan continued. "This was discovered just after the worlds were split. We discovered it from a rogue message delivered to us by what we could only assume was an advanced civilization. We later learned the name of this civilization to be Thor."

"Thor?" Genis spoke nigh instantaneously. Yuan had not expected anyone of the people within the room to know as to what he was speaking about, and this was simply based on the fact that all his knowledge of the city rested in broken transmission sent from the civilization when Mithos originally split the world atwain and from legends that he had compiled from various studies. However, they all seemed to resolve around the existence of the Aeon Jewel, among other things.

"Yes, Thor. From what I've learned of the place, it is a sunken metropolis that had progressed to a level of civilization where it had far exceeded any other source of technology on this planet, even that of Derris-Kharlan. According to the transmission we had intercepted at Welgaia, the people of Thor were in the midst of an experiment to try and develop a way of becoming Godly. They called these experimental artifacts "Godstones". To the point and rightfully so. These stones give the wearer incalculable power and nigh immortality upon awakening. Even in a state of half slumber, these prototype stones gave the wearer near God-like qualities. But none of the prototypes were truly complete."

"What do you mean…complete?" Colette muttered as the last visible shreds of anger gave way for total curiosity.

"These "Thorians" created Godstones by fusing together the crystallized essences of the most powerful emotions. Like I said before, True Love and Pure Hate. To do this, they would leave a globe like construct in the hands of thousands of men and women within their city." Yuan continued, the machine swapping from the two different stones to a hollow and nearly transparent globe. "When a person in possession of a globe became fully attuned to one of the emotions, the globe will kill them and seal their life force and the emotion within it, crystallizing it. When a stone of true love and pure hate are collected, they are fused together to form a dormant Godstone. Then, this stone is attached to a person who is in a state of incredibly deep sleep. When the person dreaming finds and acknowledges either his/her's true love or pure hate, the stone awakens fully. However, they could never attain true love, only love."

"What's the difference? Love is love…right?"

"Zelos…love is what everyone tosses around and swears over. Love is a useless sentiment that is thrown about like money. True love, however, is boundless and raw. When two people truly love one another, they would do anything for the other. They would die for one another, they would suffer endlessly, the list goes one. That is what makes that emotion so incredibly powerful." Yuan explained, before focusing his power into the machine again and changing the image within the projection to that of a deep velvet jewel with a conflicting inner core of white and black. "This is a true Godstone…or as Mithos had called it, an Aeon Jewel. And, as I found out the hard way…his true task with exspheres was the same as the Thorians. He wasn't stripping humans of emotions; he was trying to uncover true love and pure hate. Obviously, he found both."

"So…in that case, why did Mithos continue with the plot of the Chosens and world regeneration?"

"It took close to four thousand years for the two halves of an Aeon Jewel to be cultivated Genis. Obviously he had a plan that he could focus on instead, just in case his attempt to become a God failed." Yuan stated very matter-of-factly. "In-" Yuan was very succinctly cut off when a loud boom sounded from behind Sheena. The group turned to face the point of origin of the noise to see the floating ball of condensed electricity known as Volt hovering behind Sheena. The aforementioned summoner took one long look at the summon spirit before she felt a wave of words wash into her being. It took her all of fifteen seconds to understand what the spirit was saying before Sheena bolted out of both her state of catatonic-like mood and her chair. Very quickly, all attention to Yuan's explanation had faded from the room, and instead attached itself to Sheena.

"What…" Sheena forced out, her voice squeaking as she spoke. Another bounty of words flushed through her mind before the spirit faded away, leaving the room empty. "…no…God…no…please no…" Sheena began to whimper as her hands rested on the sides of her head, the digits entangling themselves in her hair. Zelos and Raine had begun to move towards the suddenly animated ninja before she turned for the worse "No…**NO!**" She screamed as loud as she could, stumbling backwards until she hit the wall. Recuperating from her moment of hesitation, Raine scooted over to Sheena worriedly.

"Sheena? What's wr-" Raine began before the young girl interpolated.

"It's Lloyd…He's in Mizuho…" Her words were broken and failing her, choked back sobs slipping out as she said each word slowly. The opening statement brought everyone to their feet just in time for them to watch Sheena collapse to her knees. Raine rushed to Sheena's side just in time to feel the Sheena's face press into the fabric of her clothing, her arms wrapping around Raine's as she began to sob heavily. Raine knelt down beside Sheena, careful not to accidentally break the needing embrace Sheena had created, rubbing the back of the child's head. Struggling viciously, Sheena began to force back the sobs, though they still seemed to sneak through her defenses.

"Lloyd…Mithos…whoever he is now…" Sheena continued, her body trembling viciously. Despite the want to help their friend, all everyone else could do was watch with frenzied concern as Sheena unloaded. They watched as she struggled to force the next words out, fighting harder than se ever did before. "He…killed…Grandpa." She finally managed to speak just as she felt her defenses crumble anew. "He…**KILLED MY GRANDPA!**" Sheena hollered at the top of her lungs into the room prior to breaking down completely.

Surprisingly enough, not a sound escaped a member's mouth within the room. Yuan's head lowered in shame as he listened to the frantic and unconquerable sobs of the teenager. Slowly turning his head to Zelos and Colette, Yuan sighed softly and deathly quiet before breaking the respectful veil of silent with a brash whisper.

"You two, let's go." Yuan didn't bother for a response before turning to Regal, whose eyes had managed to snake their way from the bitterly weeping Sheena to the attentive Yuan's. "Make certain Sheena does not leave Iselia."

"Why…should she not be with her people, so should she choose?"

"If you do allow her to leave, she'll die. Mithos is trying to call her out, to eliminate the only obstacle he might ever face. If we want to get Lloyd back, we need to keep her alive." With that, Yuan dashed out of the house and into the night colored Iselia, his wings sprouting out of his back before taking to the air. Hesitating only momentarily, Zelos and Colette soon burst from the house in very much the same fashion before taking to the air and catching up with Yuan. In their wake they left a confused and, even more so, concerned Genis, Presea and Regal, a comforting Raine and a completely broken Sheena, sobbing over the fact that the man she loved had just eradicated the only family she had ever known and every truly had.

------ Mizuho ------

It took a very short while for the hideous screams of pain to begin anew and attract a large audience of concerned villagers, the most of which kept their distance out of a combination of fear and uncertainty. It was not until Orochi pushed through the middle of the crowd that everyone began to come to attention.

"What are you fools doing? Take hold of your weapons and follow me, our chief is in trouble!" Orochi demanded with authority radiating from his being. Despite it being twilight, lanterns were lit everywhere and allowed for a much more standard amount of visibility. Turning on his heels as the people around the house began to retreat in hopes of gaining their weapons, Orochi continued towards the house with the intent to solve whatever was going on. When the screams stopped coming from the house, Orochi jumped from caution to action, fearing for the safety of the Chief and Vice-Chief. Using the secret entrance as opposed to the front door, Orochi withdrew his wakizashi and a pair of kunais before he froze in place. Before him and his eyes was a scene that the elite ninja considered completely unreal and unbelievably demonic.

Standing in front of him was a man he had come to respect as an equal in so far as battle and honor was concerned. The red swordsmen of recent lore himself, Lloyd Irving. In his left hand he firmly held the throat of Vice-Chief Tiga, visibly squeezing it ruthlessly. In his right hand he held the hilt of the blade that had found its way into the chest of the aforementioned vice chief. Just to the rear of Lloyd was the lifeless frame of Chief Igaguri, his neck clearly snapped yet his eyes conceding no fear or defeat. The seasoned warrior had seen many ungodly travesties in his life and was truly no stranger to death and murder, but this was something that engulfed him wholly with indescribable horror. The weapons dropped from his hands and clanged heavily on the floor beneath him as his brain tried to process just what he was seeing. Leisurely, Lloyd's head twisted from the dead face of Tiga to the petrified eyes of Orochi and greeted them with a sinister and entirely satisfied smile that radiated the feeling of evil.

"Orochi, my friend…" Lloyd began just prior to his hand relinquishing his grip on the neck of Tiga. Without moving his head away, Lloyd's left hand whipped up to the hair atop of Tiga's head, holding it as the sword disconnected the neck from the rest of the body in a single, water-like motion. With a light toss, the head landed with a thud just in front of Orochi, stopping in just such a way that the dismembered head was glaring up to him with his horror filled eyes still wide open. Slowly raising his head up to face Lloyd, the swordsman raised his blade and pointed it to the neck of Orochi, the smile fluttering away for a much less joyous face.

"…**_Tell me where Sheena is NOW or I'll start wiping each and every one of you non-believer scum from the face of my world."

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_**

A/N: And so begins the major event of Act 2. Many things will happen in this, and I can almost one hundred percent guarantee that none of it will be happy. By the end of the next few chapters, two characters will more than like be changed forever. Till then, peace.


	15. Chapter 5: Waters Ablaze, Part I

**Insaneiac: Welcome to the first chapter of tragedy. This, along with the next two chapters and most likely the one following them, will finalize the mysteries behind the Aeon Jewel, as well as direct the plot towards the end. Many of you were surprised by the act of Mithos/Lloyd directly attempting to draw Sheena out I saw, and that is the desired effect of course. However, for the time being, this is the epicenter climax for the Second Act of Faraway Promises. And due to the fact that the following chapters after these upcoming three or four will have next to no action in place of buildup for the final act, this is going to be loaded. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. The game is the property of Namco.

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Chapter 5: Waters Ablaze, Part I

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**_------ Mizuho – Chief's Home – Some Time Ago ------_**

"Granddad…you're awake…you're awake! You're really, really awake!" Sheena cried, nearly tackling the greatly aged chief of Mizuho, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle, warm and secure embrace. "You're finally awake…"

"Yes…yes I am my dear Sheena…" Igaguri replied, gently patting the back of the summoner's head as she seemingly hugged him tighter and tighter. He spared a glance away from the raven hue hair of his adopted granddaughter to the last person making his way from the room. Everyone else had left rather abruptly to allow the two their long deserved reunion. Everyone, that is, aside from a man garbed in red leather armor and bearing eyes that felt as pure and honorable as the teenager that had ensnared the old man's form in a bear hug.

"Wait." Igaguri called out, stopping the man in his tracks. Slowly, the red one turned around and locked eyes once more with the chief of Mizuho before allowing a heartfelt and sincere smile to fill in his face. "I somehow feel as though I owe my awakening and, by extension, my life to you as well, young man." Igaguri began, as Sheena pulled her head from the elder's chest and turned her head to face the swordsman. "Might I have your name?"

"Oh…heh." The man began, rubbing the back of his head. With a simple shrug and a bit of a goofy grin the man replied. "Lloyd. Lloyd Irving."

"Lloyd…I thank you. I owe you and Sheena a debt of gratitude that is as vast as the oceans of this world. You've given this old fool a chance to live again, and for that I am grateful." Igaguri spoke clearly, glancing down at Sheena warmly. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when he saw Sheena staring deeply into Lloyd's eyes, the rare tear streaming from the corner of each chocolate hued eye. However, what did surprise him is that just with the warmth of her eyes and the invisible yet invincible path of sight that connect the two pairs of brown eyes was a statement of gratitude and indebtedness that dwarfed his soundly.

'_So…you've found your destiny, light, and heart all in one person, my precious Sheena. That is good…perhaps now you might truly enjoy the happiness of living the life that Kami-sama grants you, instead of fearing persecution or judgment for every past sin. Let your heart lead you Sheena, and let your head steer you on the path your heart reveals. And Lloyd…take good care of my granddaughter. Even if she is only my granddaughter by name, she is still precious to me. I will never betray her Lloyd, and I know you would ask of me that gratitude should the need ever arise. But for now, I can rejoice.'_

"It was nothing, really. I just wanted to help Sheena feel better…and beside that, everyone helped." Lloyd replied modestly, cheeks fading to crimson from the praise he had received.

'_Protect her well, as she will protect you just the same. And through whatever way I can…I will protect the both of you. I may very well be old, frail and soon to return to Kami-sama…but I still know what this emotion feels like, even as an observer.'_ "Modesty is a trait worth respecting in a warrior, but pride in his accomplishments is equally so. Do not be afraid to acknowledge some credit to yourself for doing what countless people among this village will never forget you for."

"Lloyd…thank you. I'll never forget this, I promise!" Sheena finally proclaimed, smiling widely and exuberantly at the fellow teenager. Sheena had to close her eyes though as she spoke true and as tightly as possible so that Lloyd would not see them and what was brewing within them.

"Really, it was nothing. It's what I do…I see people in trouble and I help. It's the first step to changing the world…being there to help your fellow person. Dwarven vow # 2: Never abandon someone in need."

_**------ Present Day Mizuho------**_

"Come on!" A random member of the Mizuhoan ninjas cried out while carrying a sickle in each hand, his voice not hampered or hindered from the heavy rainfall that encased them. Within moments of being notified by Orochi to do so, the townspeople had completely equipped themselves with both their battle garbs and weaponry and were truly prepared to commit to battle. Rumor had spread like wildfire that Lloyd Irving was inside as well, the notion of which acted like a faucet for the villagers. That knowledge alone strengthened resolves and poured liquid courage onto their beings, as though fighting along side Lloyd would make them invincible. The nighttime landscape of Mizuho was dotted from all sides by the light of lamps bright enough to bring mock daytime to the village, allowing them to see as clearly as possible within the village, though the heavy rainfall served to make an endless curtain of water.

"What's going on? Why has all the yelling stopped?" One man yelled, his sword drawn and prepared. He looked at his comrades slightly frantically as the fear of what the ceased screaming could possibly represent filled his heart.

"Who cares, on three, charge the house…we'll take whatever is in there soundly by storm." Another replied, spinning his staff expertly within his hands and putting it into the battle position before making his way to the bridge leading to the house. "1…2…"

The final number never came to the ninjas as a body was launched through the side of the house. All eyes whipped to the blue clad ninja that soared through the sky until he unceremoniously collided with a tree limb. A large crack sounded from the body as he hit the thick wood, the sound being his left arm's shoulder and elbow shattering from the impact. With an unintentional grunt, Orochi collapsed to the muddy ground in a heap, landing on the already broken left arm and further causing more agony, not that he could truly register any more. Orochi had blacked out from the initial impact of his body and the wall of the Chief's house. All eyes focused on Orochi for a good minute before a handful of the villages warriors knelt down beside the elite member of Mizuho's ninjas and began carrying him away so as to properly look at the wounds he had suffered from the incredibly out of no where attack. Suddenly, the rain seemed to become deathly quiet without relinquishing any of its strength.

"So, this is what the mundane folk who wallow in mud and water can do…" A clear and strong voice echoed out from the house. Almost every warrior there knew who it was just by his voice and not a man or woman among them could be brought to truly think it was possible. After all, this was Lloyd Irving, one of the most quintessential members in awaking Chief Igaguri from his ten year coma and, thanks to the unbeatable intelligence agency, the man that reunited worlds that the "hero" Mithos had split in two.

"Lloyd…is that-" One of the closer warriors spoke out, slowly stepping towards the house.

"This is how you leeches and filth repay the kindness of Martel? Through negligence and blasphemy? It is truly both pitiable and punishable in the eyes of Martel."

Suddenly, curiosity was finding itself replaced with anger-masked fear. "What are you blabbering about? Lloyd, what madness are you wallowing in?"

"Madness?" Lloyd spoke loudly, his voice booming amidst the village. This time, his voice sounded as though it were a fog, coming from every direction and encompassing everything. The way his voice curved in attitude was far more than enough to bring the fear of Heaven's ceaseless wrath itself down upon the warriors. Where once stood steadfast and readied ninjas were now filled in by uncertain and frightened men who had seemed far more afraid of dying than they had mere minutes ago. The rain continued to come down all around them, its eerie silence now being interpreted as an omen of dark foreboding.

"…You should address your lord proper fools. Martel may have very well created these worlds for your kind, and Lloyd might have very well sealed these worlds together for your kind…but to gaze upon those who still refuse to bow and worship those of true divinity is of the most pure insult." A pause filled the air as the rain seemed to fall harder, almost as if he had been waiting for it too. "Yet…you can redeem yourselves though…you can spare yourself from the might of true divinity…" Lloyd's voice continued, engulfing the village from every direction. "Tell us now…where is Sheena Fujibayashi. Speak that and you will be spared wrath."

"But…why do you need to know that Lloyd…she was traveling with you was she not?" Another spoke. It was the female guard that had been with Lloyd at the entrance, the one that had remained fairly silent. She had been unaware that Lloyd had begun to speak in plural when addressing himself. More so than that, even though it was Lloyd's voice, it felt twisted. His voice seemed to mix with that of a child's almost, yet all could tell it was Lloyd. There was no mistaking his voice nor his presence.

"That is not an answer." Lloyd spoke after a brief pause. From all around the entire town the air could be felt turning sharp, turning violent. "If you know not the answer, speak it so. Truth is much more respected than ignorance, even if it bares no information to our cause."

"But-"

"What happened to Chief Igaguri and Vice-Chief Tiga?" Another yelled, cutting off the one before him. Although it was a rough circle outside of the chief's house that the ninjas comprised, the one who had uttered last took several steps forwards and pointed both knives towards the house. "Or rather, have you killed them yet in your insanity Lloyd Irving?"

"Ah yes…Kano Isshin. Sheena's friend…Well, more like warm acquaintance we would assume. Tell Lloyd where she-"

"I did not give you quarter to ask that again Lloyd Irving! I have asked now, what has become of our Chief and Vice Chief?" Kano demanded, his eyes tightening in a desperate attempt to control the mind numbing fear that raged with squall-like fury within him. "Why have you treated Orochi as such, why have you deceived our guards…ANSWER ME IRVING!"

For a while after the fierce statements from Kano there was nothing. Not just in sound, but even in feeling and motion as well. All eyes were fixated either on the house that housed Lloyd Irving, or the one man strong enough to step forward.

"What man are you to talk to us like that?" Lloyd replied without a curve of any kind within his voice. "What level of creation do you believe yourself to be to try our patience?"

Despite his insides turning to ice, Kano refused to move back even an inch. "Lloyd, you still haven't answered me."

"So be it…your choice is made then, Kano. For this, we have no mercy or no kindness to spare to you, your people, or even your pathetic race. We killed them, both of them. Your filthy chief remained strong until the end, but oh…how Tiga screamed and begged!" Lloyd paused only to allow his ears to immerse themselves in the sounds of a people suffering. He could hear disbelief, rage, sorrow, sympathy, malice…all the prominent human emotions among others. "And now, you have invited tragedy to your village...may you all find forgiveness in Martel. You will find none from us." Lloyd cried one final time before all went still again.

Instinctively the warriors drew their weapons up, aside from the four that were tending to a nigh dead Orochi. They had long since left the scene to care for the wounded elite, although much against his very scarcely conscious protests. Despite his being lying on Death's door mat, Orochi was adamant and aggressive about defending his homeland. Everyone else began to say brief prayers to their respective deity before moving towards the house. Mizuho warriors were as much fighters as they were in the intelligence business, and one thing they had all long since learned was that even if the numbers benefited them by far, and even if they knew practically inside and out whom they were fighting, they should never truly hand themselves victory in their minds. Every battle is still only a battle until the enemy is dead or retreating. Until one of those come to pass, there is no such notion as victory or defeat. Among other things in Mizuho, that is what is drilled into the head of every boy and girl within mere weeks of their birth. Lloyd was, among many other things now in question, a warrior and a man who brought together two separate worlds. He, along with Sheena and the others, revived their long since comatose chief, and even sealed a pack with the mighty Volt who was long since believed to be without weakness nor any knowledge of defeat.

Then, all at once the air around them became angry. Eyes shifted from Kano, who was now standing just in front of the building with weapons drawn, and to the building in question. From every crack in the wood and every window on the structure erupted a bright and seemingly endless ray of light. The house itself slowly began to creak inwards in such a manner that a building would if a vortex was within it. Walls began to curve inwards while the roof seemed to suck inwards towards the floor. The ground around the house began to shake and quiver as a low hum began to fill the area around them all. All stood and stared at the sight in a mix of awestruck curiosity and a fear of the unknown. Kano, however, took one more step towards the house against all his wills and fears, when the sounds and light ceased to exist.

"Wha…" Kano began, before he watched the walls and roof of the house begin to return to normal. For a second, as that was all the time he had to, Kano believed that something was truly amiss. That was when the first plank of wood impaled him through the right side of his stomach and javelined itself and the ninja through the sky and into the tree that rested behind them all. Eyes would have turned towards the young man, had the house took any chance of that from the rest of them. The wood plank was only an early indication of what was to happen, as the house erupted outwards at massive strengths and speeds as an explosive sound equal to that of fifty simultaneous thunder strikes filled the sky and the village. No smoke or fire was seen from the center, yet still the house was exploded. Debris of the most jagged quality rained into the circle from all ninjas, and the sky soon filled with the sounds of agony and pain. One ninja managed to turn around only to take a spear like chunk of wood through the back of the kneecap, driving him into the ground. He began a scream when another plank found it fit to impale the ninja through the neck and into the ground. A pair to the farther left of the house screamed as dozens of smaller, arrow like pieces riddled into their respective bodies and exited out the other end. A man leapt out of the way of one smaller lance of wood only to feel another one taken him by the shoulder and drive him into the ground. Before he could scream, a massive chunk of wood cleaved his body in two, crushing bone, muscle and his heart as it split him in twain. Several had begun to run away only to be peppered and slain by arrow like planks of wood that seemingly fell from heaven. A single child stepped out at the wrong moment and was caught in the stomach with a lance like chunk of wood, the driving force of it enough to tear through his back and imbed his body into the earth beneath him. Screams of agony soon mixed with the sounds of debris crashing against the earth and rain slamming against the ground.

**------ Iselia ------**

Raine was left to tend to the now nearly motionless Sheena, who had since calmed herself after an initial outburst that shook everyone's body to their core. Even though three had departed to defend the village, there were more than enough to care for the distraught and broken ninja. Raine had allowed the others to go make preparations to join the group, allowing them to leave their traveling equipment in the room. Sheena had been offered a seat at the table, but preferred the floor as she wrapped herself into a tight little ball. At least, that was what she had been doing. Now, however, her eyes were firmly locked on the bag that Regal had brought in with him.

More so than all that, her eyes were firmly locked on wing pack that lay inside of the bag. Fast did the tears contain themselves once more when she found an unguarded wing pack, which in turn meant two things. She could get to Mizuho and she could save the village. Despite coming to the village as an outsider, despite being the sole cause of tragedy in the village, and despite the fact that the village had bartered her off as though she were no more than a bargain trade for an alliance with Meltokio, she loved her village. Now the opportunity to make up for the failure at Volt's tower had finally aroused itself, and the chance to try and confront Lloyd about his actions was right beside it. Sheena may be a woman, but she was also a summoner and a warrior. A Mizuhoan ninja as it were, and they would never run when their home was under attack. Wiping her eyes one last time, Sheena forced herself to her feet and walked to the bag. Her hand slipped into it and wrapped around the wing pack, tightening around it as she brought it out.

She was unsurprised when a hand wrapped around her wrist. "Drop it Sheena." A firm voice spoke with solidity.

"I can't do that Raine. I just can't."

"Yuan, Zelos and Colette are heading there already. Yuan said to keep you hear, and right now he's the best advantage we've got going Sheena. You have to understand." Raine replied, unnerved when she saw Sheena's head tilt and lock eyes with the half elf. They narrowed ever so determinedly into Raine's, distracting her long enough for the ninja to place a red card just in front of the healer's chest.

"No Raine…I don't. Mizuho needs me right now and frankly…so does Lloyd. I will not be sitting in a room crying when I can be out there helping."

"Lloyd's blind to the world Sheena…you can't go. Lloyd would never forgive me if I let you, even if he's not here right now."

"Well Raine, that's just it." Sheena started, her eyes darting down to the card that hovered just in front of Raine's chest. "PYRE SEAL!" Raine could do nothing as the energy erupted from the card, tossing her across the room and into a pillar within the house. She bounced soundly off the wooden pillar and landed on the ground with a thud, a long winded groan escaping her lips as her body connected with hardwood once more in only two seconds.

"No one said you had to let me…" Sheena finished, before dashing out of the door. Within moments Sheena had the Rheaird out in the square, and as she turned to look back she could see Regal just connecting eyes with her in the distance. Sheena leapt onto the flying machine just as Regal took off towards her, and took off into the air. By the time Regal had reached where Sheena had been, the young girl was off at the fastest she could go, leaving behind the village of Iselia and its villagers to save her own. As Regal stared up into the rainy skies at the girl as she flew off to be with her own, a cold fear washed over him. Turning to Genis who had just caught up with him, Regal gave him a grim shake of his head. He knew the only way Sheena would have gotten a wing pack and gotten out was either by her ninja grace, which he doubts she truly had in the state she was in, or by whatever for necessary.

"I'll check on your sister, you gather the remaining wing packs and Presea. We need to catch up with Sheena." Regal waited for a nod from Genis which never came. Instead, he stood in the rain in confusion, before shivering once. "Genis?"

"The mana of this world…" Genis began, wrapping his arms around himself in much the fashion a person who was engulfed by the freezing cold would before looking back at Regal with sorrow filled eyes. He stared for a moment before dropping to his knees on the ground and closing his eyes tightly. "It's crying…I can feel this world's mana weeping Regal…I've always felt changes in the mana, but that is obvious. We half-elves are attuned to the feelings of the planet. I could never feel it like this before…" Genis finished, blinking once before closing his eyes even tighter as he tried to fight the feeling off. Inside his eyelids, he could see two things clearly. Darkness and the back of a man in a flowing brown robe with long blonde hair that flowed as though it were in a strong wind. What Regal saw, however, was the young half-elf collapse suddenly and land on his side, his head splashing in a puddle. Dashing towards him, Regal picked the child off the muddy ground and dashed into Raine's house, his eyes never leaving Genis' frame as he did.

**------ Mizuho ------**

Several had safely taken up defense behind a tree, avoiding the deadly projectiles with the help of nature itself. A young member of this group turned to see his mother pinned to the wall of a nearby house, her right breast bearing a large spear of wood in it with her blood fast painting the newest part of her. The young one left the group of narrowly alive ninjas, screaming at the top of his lungs as he charged towards his mother. She turned her head to look at her son, her face pale from the blood loss and her eyes bloodshot from her screams of pain. She opened her mouth to protest to her kind when the final blow was struck; a long sharp skewer of debris struck her in the side of the head and shot straight through, the other end of her head and driving itself into the side of the house. Her body went rag doll just as the younger ninja reached her, collapsing from the run at the feet of her mother. Tears began to seep from his eyes, mixing and mingling with the rain and the blood that fell from above as he wept at the feet of his mother. A pair of men rushed to the warrior, stopping beside him as he screamed and yelled in his depression. One ninja went to comfort the lad whilst the other looked away from the woman that was pinned to the wall. He raised his head to look around, only to see more death and impaled warriors that were unlucky enough to still be alive. Kano was barely alive, his hands drenched in his blood as he continued to try and free himself from the wood that pinned his body to the wall.

Once more, the man's eyes swept the field that surrounded the house, the debris of death all rained down and leaving the rain to the sky once more. Bodies of former comrades and friends littered the field, some left mortally wounded but alive and forced to experience a long cold death. Screams of pain were replaced be sobs of pain and groans of the barely alive slipping into death or the now returned pitter patter of raindrops upon muddy and bloodied grounds. With great length, the man's eyes, along with the eyes of various survivors and stragglers, gazed towards where the house had once stood. In the center lay two bodies as stiff as stone. They were the corpses of Chief Igaguri and Vice Chief Tiga. Struggling, the eyes shifted towards the man standing in the center of former resting place of the house, and laid themselves upon a kneeling man garbed in brilliant white armor that emitted light from its very presence. Slowly, the man stood to full height, allowing four massive, white feathered wings to stretch out and wrap themselves around the figure to make an angelic cloak of angel feathers. He turned to face the male ninja intently, locking eyes with him.

"So, some of you all survived."

"…Lloyd?" The one man spoke in a much disgusted manner, pushing to his feet. "Lloyd…what are you doing? Why ar-"

"We are not Lloyd. For one such as yourself, you may address us as Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion. Nothing else." He spoke, brushing his brown and spiked hair backwards. Despite his being completely uncovered in the heavy rainfall, never did a drop touch his skin. Lloythos waited patiently as the ninjas gathered themselves back and stand up, the few survivors quickly gathering around him. Each had a weapon of any kind handy, and pointed towards the shining seraphim in fear.

"What do you want with Sheena!"

"What else. Sheena is to come with me…She needs to be with me…" Lloythos uttered through grinning lips. "After all, every King needs a queen, does he not?"

"If that be the case, then we'll NEVER give up the next chief to you! NEVER!" A man yelled. Turning back, Kano had finally been wrenched free and was being taken away to join the injured Orochi, leaving the small battalion of ninjas to fend for themselves. "What became of the honorable man that once stood as a benchmark for justice and honor? What happened to the warrior that believed in equality and truth…"

"He saw your truth…your ways and your lies and your hatred and your madness. Lloyd saw what humanity is through me, and now he sees as I do…he sees as we do."

"So…it is as that man had said, albeit cryptically…Lloyd has given you his soul, hasn't he Destroyer?" The man cried back, the other Mizuhoans growling. "Lloyd gave himself over to you Mithos."

Lloythos chuckled at this statement in much the way a child does, smiling sincerely at the ninja. "Mizuhoan Intelligence is the best of any world; I'm not surprised you found out about my personal being at the very least. However, you've still refrained from calling me by my proper name." Lloythos continued, the wings brushing back outwards as he laid a hand upon the hilt of two of the three swords as his face melted into that of vengeance and anger. "That being uttered, it's time for this village and its people to disappear from reality and history." The words were the last he uttered before disappearing himself. No one had a chance before the two swords pierced the flesh of the man that had spoken to Lloythos originally, each piercing a lung with ease. Lloythos withdrew the blades and kicked the man backwards, into the pair that stood behind him.

"Tachi!" One screamed, just in time to feel a blade imbed itself into the side of his head. Lloythos pulled the blade out as though he had stabbed it in, cutting deeper into the skull. Screaming once, the other man turned to Lloythos and stabbed at him with his sword. Spinning one of the velvet glowing blades leisurely, Lloyd deflected the stab before bringing the other blade down upon the wrist of the ninja. It left him completely awe struck how fast the angel had moved, to be able to completely disassemble his defense. However, that though was soon wiped away in blinding agony as the sword severed the hand from the arm. A mutilated scream of pain erupted from the ninja's covered mouth as he stumbled backwards and grabbed his dismembered arm with his only remaining hand.

"SMITE!" Lloythos yelled, as he stabbed the swords into the ground and unleashed a white light through his body and into the muddy floor. From beneath the screaming and thrashing ninja emitted a white circle of light that began to expand slowly, until it surrounded him. Finally, the screams of the earth echoed through the circle, distracting the warrior and causing him to look down at the large glowing circle he was standing above. First, the sound seemed to leave the world, and even though the man was still screaming, no sound was coming forth. Moments later a beam of brilliant white that was the size of the circle in diameter screamed into the sky, tearing away flesh and muscle and evaporating bone. As the light left the world, so did the ninja, leaving nothing standing.

"SERAPH WINGS!" Lloyd followed, as the wings on his back erupted into a cloud of dagger like blades that counted in the high hundreds. Slowly, the Seraphim pointed towards another group of ninjas that had become frozen in spot at the cruelty displayed by Lloyd, and fast found themselves being mercilessly torn to shreds and cut atwain by floating angelic blades. They managed to scream for mere moments before their voice boxes where shredded along with the rest of their bodies. After two long minutes of disembowelment, the daggers returned to Lloythos and became his wings again as his eyes rested upon the mutilated bodies that once were warriors. Looking around, Lloythos could see the stragglers running, and could here those that had opted to hide breathing heavily and crying.

"_O Heaven, hear your one and only child…_" Lloythos began, sheathing each sword and stretching his hands out. With several mighty flaps of his wings, Lloythos lifted into the sky, the rain curving around his angelic form. "_Open your blessed ears and be attuned to the words of your most loyal creation…_" Lloythos drew his hands above him as he stopped ascending upwards, resting high above the village, the smell of watery blood and the sounds of aftermath still reaching him. "_Heed these requests for judgment upon these sinners and immoral beings._" Above his hands, a pair of large silver spheres formed, prompting him to bring each to his side again. His words now turned to the survivors beneath him, as did his angered eyes. "_Feel the wrath of divinity and the Goddess as your souls are damned to the hell you've crafted through ignorance and sin…_" Without hesitation, Lloythos smashed these spheres together mightily, instantly causing the sky to change from night time and black to ominous velvet and glowing. Every eye now rested upon Lloythos as he floated above, thousands of silver spheres now surrounding him and dotting the air around him.

"_OH__COME, GODDESS' WRATH AND HEAVEN'S VERDICT!_" Lloythos began, grasping his hands together as he threw back his head and opened his eyes as wide as he could. "**_IMMACULATE JUDGMENT!"_**

All around Lloythos, the silver balls began to rapid fire lights of silver shine upon the village, each creating a small explosion that, on a small scale were equivalent to that of an eruption spell. However, Lloythos was raining down more than the skies were raining water, and the village was soon finding itself being torn asunder by the raindrops of heavenly destruction. Each impact brought forth another night shattering eruption as the attack continued. Trees were scattered like blades of grass in the wind, and houses were blown apart like card castles. Yet Lloythos' being had not moved in the slightest, nor a single sound had emitted from his mouth. Even his eyes were no longer upon his work of art, but instead gazing towards the direction of the Tower of Mana. A slow smile crossed his face as he swiped his hands through the air, ceasing the rain of Heaven's Fire.

Down below, the village was in tatters, bare standings of houses engulfed in hellfire and screams of trapped children and women filling the night sky. Trees were burnt to crisps and the waters of the village were gone as the land covered rivers without problem. Burn marks replaced grass and craters replaced gates and stands and chunks of houses. However, Lloythos never laid an eye upon his handiwork, instead his attention rested on the far off tower, a grin wrapped upon his face like a little child upon the celebration of his birth.

"Kratos…if you wanted to see me so, you didn't have to go to such grandiose preparations." Lloythos spoke slowly, before flying away from the ruins of Mizuho.

* * *

A/N: Among other things, this should give you a fairly good idea as to Lloythos Yggdrasill-Aurion's strengths and…well, his goals are revealed in much more detail in the following chapters. However, the other truly important thing to happen now is poor Genis and his sudden and inexplicable attunement to the world's mana. Well, believe me, this act is just in the middle and there is going to be much more…and as I am sure many are going to guess, the future holds a great change from a pair of characters. 


End file.
